Seeing isn't Always Believing
by SheSaysCiao
Summary: There's a new girl enrolled at Anubis, and she's partially blind. See how she deals with the boarders from our favorite House, and maybe some romance will spark along the way. Rated T because I said so. NOTE - Some use of the Italian language.
1. House of Arrivals

**Hi! Okay, I know this is overload for me seeing as I have two other fics I'm supposed to be working on, but I got the idea for this (my brain and its thinking) and I thought it'd be great, because it's never been done before.**

**Needless to say, those other two fics are going on hiatus until I can think up more ideas for them and/or have more time to focus on them.**

_*****NOTE: There is some use of Italian in this story. If you can't figure out what it means by context, leave a review saying so and I'll fix it in the future. It'll probably only be in this first chapter/very infrequent throughout the entire story, but I'm putting this here as a warning. Also, I've used Google Translate, so I'm not even sure if it turned out right, but oh well.**_

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I don't own House of Anubis. I only own my OCs and this plot line.**

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><p><strong>Chapter One: House of Arrivals<strong>

Giana's POV:

I sighed heavily, tightening my grip on the handle of my suitcase. I looked up in front of me and made out the figure of a large, foreboding house.

Let me clear something up for you: I'm sixteen. From America. I have long, wavy, almost black hair, dark brown eyes, and olive skin. My family's very Italian. I have low vision. That means I can't see as well as others. And yet, after much begging and pleading, my parents were willing enough to let me go off to this fancy, expensive boarding school in England, an ocean away from home.

Taking a deep breath, I started walking forward again. The cab driver had insisted on guiding me into the house, or at least to the front door, and after I thanked him, kindly telling him I could manage, he left. Feeling the tip of my cane hit something brick, I climbed the three steps to the front door of the house.

Putting my hand on the knob, I opened it ever so slightly, feeling a rush of cold air blast at me, giving me goosebumps. The inside of the house seemed quiet, so I closed the door as softly as I could - which ended in it practically slamming.

As if I wasn't spooked enough, a short Asian woman rounded the corner just then, literally making me jump as she started speaking.

"Oh! I'm sorry, dearie. You must be our new student! Miss-"

"De Luca. Giana De Luca."

"Ah, that's right. Victor said you were Italian," I heard a smile in her voice. "I'm Trudy Rehmann, your housemother. Welcome to Anubis House!"

"Thanks, Trudy," I said. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Now," she continued, "I'll show you to your room and help you get settled in. You'll be staying with Nina and Amber."

I nodded, following her up the old wooden staircase and heaving my trunk behind me. The noise from both that and my cane hitting the stairs two steps above me every time I moved was enough to wake everything in the house.

"Who's making all the racket?" I heard a snarling man's voice coming from the top of the stairs. "Oh." His tone quieted. "It's you."

"Victor Rodenmaar, don't scare our new student," Trudy scolded. "This is Giana De Luca, remember? The new exchange student from America?"

"Hi, Victor," I greeted hesitantly.

He grunted, turning back and going farther into the depths of the house.

"He's really quite lovely," she said. I shrugged. "Well, let's continue to your room then."

Once we were in my room, I felt the need to look around a little. The walls were a pinkish-purple, and everything was fairly decorated. I noticed an empty bed with a nightstand next to it pushed against the far wall by a window.

"I'll leave you to unpack," Trudy said. "I'll be downstairs if you need me. The other students should be coming back from classes soon."

"Alright," I answered. "Thanks."

After making my bed and putting my clothes away, I decided to turn on my iPhone and check to see if I had any new texts. I knew my friends would be missing me already.

**'VoiceOver on. One new message. Tori: Hey how are you? Did you land ok? ~T'**

Tori was my best friend from back home, so naturally she'd be one of the first people to text me. I responded and said I was fine, then decided to call home.

After about three rings, my brother answered.

"Gigi!" he exclaimed. "How's life over in England, little sis?"

"Nico!" I grinned. "I've only just got here! I've finished unpacking, though."

"Is everyone treating you well?"

"The only people I've met so far is Trudy the housemother and Victor the caretaker. Victor's the one who scares me."

"Just relax, Gigi. You'll be fine."

"Thanks. Hey, is Mom or Dad home?"

"Yep. Here, I'll give you to Mom. Addio, sorella."

"Addio."

I waited for a few minutes, hearing him yell to our mother that I was on the phone. After some rustling, she picked up.

"Giana!" she exclaimed. "How are you?"

"Sto bene, Mamma," I answered. "You?"

"Sto bene. Have you settled in well?" she asked.

"I arrived a half hour ago," I pointed out.

"True. Very true. I hope you have fun, Gigi. Don't miss us too much."

_Too late for that,_ I thought. "Where's Dad?"

"He's still at work. Nicolo's about to head to soccer practice."

"Tell him bye for me?"

"Of course."

"I miss you, Mom."

"I miss you too, bella. Study hard and make lots of friends!"

"I will."

I said goodbye to my mom and brother, just in time to hear a lot of commotion going on downstairs. I decided to see what was happening.

I was worried about fitting in, but I was more concerned with the fact that I'd fall flat on my face walking down the stairs if I didn't bring my cane with me. Sighing, I unfolded it and headed out of the room.

As soon as I got to the bottom of the stairs, I noticed where all the noise was coming from. My housemates had gotten back from classes.

"I'm telling you, Jerome!" one boy shouted. "It doesn't make sense! How could Mara like you and not me?"

Apparently I decided to enroll at the wrong time.

"Look, Campbell," the guy I assumed to be Jerome spoke up. "It was inevitable anyways."

"Will you two stop fighting?" A new voice, this one female, joined the conversation. "I'm sick of you arguing over me!" I guessed that was Mara. "Look, Mick, I'm sorry, but we're done. I told you before, and that's how it's going to be. I'm sorry."

"You little creep, Jerome!" Mick exclaimed, storming out. Before he was out of the room, he stopped walking. I think he turned around and faced me. "Who are you?" he asked.

I felt my cheeks turn pink. I hadn't wanted to be noticed eavesdropping on their conversation. "I-I'm Giana," I said in a small voice. "Giana De Luca. I'm new."

"And American by the sounds of it," Jerome muttered.

"I'm Mick. Mick Campbell," Mick introduced himself shortly and continued storming out.

"Nice to meet you, Giana," Jerome said. "I'm Jerome Clarke."

"And I'm Mara Jaffray," Mara then said, a smile in her voice. "Welcome to Anubis."

"Thanks," I responded. "And sorry about that. I didn't mean to listen in."

"It's alright, things happen," she shrugged.

I shook my head. _And so begins my stay at England's most exclusive boarding school._


	2. House of Introductions

**Here's chapter two!**

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I own nothing but my OCs and this plot line.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two: House of Introductions<strong>

Fabian's POV:

Nina, Amber and I had just entered the house when we saw Mick storm out in a huff, muttering something about going for a run.

"What's his problem?" Nina wondered aloud.

"He's probably still upset over Mara and Jerome dating," Amber stated matter-of-factly. I just shook my head.

"You people and your gossip," I said. The girls shrugged.

As we walked into the common room and put our things down, I noticed a new girl lounging about on a sofa, earbuds in, skimming through songs on what appeared to be an iPhone. There was a large book next to her, open to some particular page. I looked closer, only to realize I couldn't read what it was even if I tried. It looked as if it were written in braille.

"Excuse me," Amber spoke up. "Who are you?"

The girl looked startled, her earbuds falling out and her phone almost flying across the room.

"Er," she sat up quickly and turned to us. "I'm Giana. I'm your new housemate."

"Are you from America?" Nina asked, taking a seat next to her.

"Yeah, I am," she replied. "Are you? Your accent sounds it."

Nina nodded.

"It's nice to meet you, Giana," I said, sitting on the other side of her. She moved her book to the coffee table. "I'm Fabian. On the other side of you is Nina, and sitting over there is Amber."

"Hi," they said in unison.

"You're our new roommate!" Amber squealed.

Nina leaned over to whisper something in the new girl's ear. I had just caught what it was.

"Take notice: Amber will use you as her own personal Barbie doll," she said. They giggled.

Just then, Alfie and Patricia walked into the room.

"We have another new girl?" Alfie asked. He sat down on the floor in front of Amber. "Are you an alien?"

Giana looked at him questioningly. "Um, no… Not that I know of. I'm Giana."

"Oh great, another American," Patricia muttered. "Well, I'm Patricia. That moron over there who's obsessed with aliens is Alfie."

I noticed Giana stick out her hand to shake Patricia's. When she was snubbed off and Patricia walked away nonchalantly, all she did was shrug and return to her book.

I shared a look with Alfie, Amber and Nina. I knew we all wanted to ask the same question, but if Amber did it, well, there went any sort of nice reputation left in this House.

Scarily enough, she was about to open her mouth and ask what we'd been wanting to know. I quickly shook my head and mouthed 'I'll do it,' before she could talk. She quickly averted her gaze to a fashion magazine.

"Um," I started, rubbing the back of my neck. "Not to be rude, but… Are you blind?"

"At least you have more tact than other people," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "Well," she spoke louder now, "I have some sight. Like, I can see the color of your clothes and hair, but I can't see your eye color or other facial features. I can see Amber's reading something, but I don't know what the title of it is. I can't read print unless it's, like, really big, so I mainly read braille. My phone and computer talk, so don't be freaked out by that, okay? Anything else, just ask."

I stared at her, dumbfounded. "Er, well, um… Okay."

It was then that Amber decided to speak up. "So, can you, like, speak sign language and all that?"

Nina sighed heavily and I buried my face in my hands. Alfie burst out laughing. Giana looked nonplussed.

"No," she said bluntly, closing the book and setting it down again.

"What book is that?" Nina asked.

"The last volume of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," she answered, smiling. "I'm rereading the series."

"So am I!" I exclaimed. "What part are you at?"

"Really?' her face lit up. "That's awesome! And they're just about to start the Third Task."

"Dinner!" Trudy called. We all got up and went into the dining room, and I watched Giana work her way through the house using her cane, barely bumping into anything.

* * *

><p><span>Giana's POV:<span>

Everyone seemed nice, for the most part. Well, everyone but Patricia. She was acting kinda bitchy.

Well, at least I've kind of become friends with Fabian. In a way.

"Giana!" Patricia exclaimed. I snapped out of my haze.

"Hmm?" I asked, totally oblivious.

"Pass the bread."

"Uh…" I looked blankly at the food on the table in front of me, unsure as to where the bread actually was. No one told me the layout of everything - people just passed me stuff. "Where is it?"

"Right _in front_ of you," she sneered.

I sighed, passed her the plate of bread, and continued eating.

"Don't mind Patricia," Fabian whispered. "She's not exactly the easiest person to get along with."

"I've noticed," I replied.

"Do you know what happened with Joy?" Mara asked. "Is she not coming back?"

"No," Patricia grumbled. "Her parents enrolled her at some other school somewhere. Plus, I doubt she'd want to come back here after what Victor and the teachers did."

"What happened?" I asked, intrigued.

"None of _your_ business, Newbie," she responded.

"No need to be a bitch," I retorted. "I was only asking a question."

"Uh-oh," Jerome said. "Giana, you _do not_ want to mess with Trixie."

"Why do you say-"

I never got a chance to finish, because the next thing I knew there was cold water being poured on me.

"WHAT THE HELL!" I screeched. "Who- _What-_"

"You may want to be nicer to me next time, _Newbie,_" Patricia snarled.

"PATRICIA!" Fabian shouted. "Giana, I am _so_ sorry! Patricia, how _could_ you? She didn't do anything!"

"In my defense, I did call her a bitch," I started off, still shocked from the cold liquid. "And, you can call me Gigi, but that's beside the point."

I then got up, grabbed my cane, and ran out of the house, heading somewhere. Anywhere. I had no idea what the layout of the campus was - I barely knew how to get over to the school without getting lost.

I took out my phone and decided to call Tori.

"Gigi!" she answered, sounding thrilled. "How's England? Meet any cute guys?"

"Tori," I started off, sitting down on a stone bench, "there's this one girl in my House who's a total… ugh."

"Uh-oh. What happened?"

"Well, I asked her a simple question, she said no in a rude way, I called her a bitch, and she poured water on me."

"No way! Then what?"

"I ran out of the house and now I'm sitting on a bench somewhere on campus." I sighed. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

"Don't say that, G. You'll fit in and have a great time!" she reassured me. "I wish I could join you."

"Not if you have to deal with Patricia," I muttered.

"Look. Next time, if that bitch starts something, just whack her with your cane and be all 'FEEL THE WRATH OF GIANA ROSABELLA DE LUCA!' and walk away."

"Great idea. Then there will be unicorns surrounding me and I'll suddenly become immortal. Come on, Tor. She'd kill me in a heartbeat."

"It's _that_ bad? Maybe I should come visit and give her a taste of her own medicine."

It was true: Tori _was_ quite the troublemaker. "Nah." I dismissed her suggestion. "I think I can deal with it."

She decided to switch topics. "So. Did you meet a cute guy there or what?"

"Well, there's this _one_ guy… His name's Fabian, and he seemed kind of nice…"

"Anyone I should run over to your house and warn Nico about?"

"God, no! He'd be on the next flight here, ready to give him the 'Older Brother to New Boyfriend Talk'. I can't have that."

I heard a twig snap, startling me. I looked around and saw Fabian just a few feet away.

"Tor, I gotta go. Talk to you later?"

"M'kay, sure. Nice hearing from you, G! Ciao."

"Grazie! Ciao." I hung up and put my phone back in my pocket.

"Am I interrupting something?" Fabian asked hesitantly. I shook my head.

"No," I answered. "And you can sit down. I was just venting to a friend back home."

"I understand." He sat down next to me. "Look, Giana-"

"Call me Gigi."

"Okay, Gigi. Don't take anything Patricia says or does personally. She had a really hard time last term and is upset about her friend not re-enrolling. I'm sorry about what happened at dinner."

"It's fine - it's not like _you_ were the one who poured a pitcher of water on me. I mean, I understand Patricia being upset, and I know that my calling her a bitch was out of line, but was there really a need for all that to happen?"

"No, you're right. She shouldn't have done that. And you know what? I'm glad you stood up to her. It shows you're not willing to take what she throws in your face. Just please, don't take it to heart."

"I won't."

"Good." He paused. "Er, are you ready to head back? You look cold."

I shivered. "Yeah, sure." I got up, unfolding my cane. "Hey, Fabian? How'd you find me out here anyways?"

"I guess I just know where to look for people," he answered. He smiled, and I found myself blushing as we headed back to Anubis.


	3. House of Apologies

**Alright, guys.**

**I know a lot of you are upset about this not being a Fabina fic, and I'm not going to beg you to keep reading if you're truly unhappy about that, but please, just at least give it a try. I ship Fabina too, but I'm also willing to think outside the box. I mean, the Harry Potter crossovers I wrote were focused on Nina and Harry's son Albus dating, so…**

**Please, guys, just give it a chance. I'm not going to stand here and beg all of you to keep reading and reviewing, but at least try it out. If you don't like it, I totally understand, but it's good to try new things.**

**Okay, now that that's over, on to the next chapter.**

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I own nothing but my OCs and this plot line.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Three: House of Apologies<strong>

Giana's POV:

My first day of classes was… exceptionally horrible.

First, I couldn't open my locker because I couldn't see the numbers on the combination lock. I asked someone in my House to do it for me, feeling annoyed that I had to depend on people if I wanted to change out books or something. Nina happily agreed, since our lockers were next to each other.

In French, Mrs. Andrews forgot about my accommodations, so she just kept putting stuff on the board without verbally saying what it was. After asking her a few times if she'd do it, she would for a bit, then stop. Luckily Fabian sat down with me after and went through his notes with me so I could copy them.

Throughout the entirety of it all, Patricia just continued hazing me.

During the break before Drama, I was talking with a few of my Housemates, and all of a sudden, when the time came to move seats, I noticed I didn't have my cane. After being guided by Amber, I found out Patricia had taken it. After standing up to her and asking for it back, I continued to snub her every time she continued being a jerk to me.

Now, I was in my room, lying on my stomach on my bed, mulling over the horrible first impression this place was giving me.

There was then a knock at the door, snapping me out of my daydreams.

"Che cos'è?" I groaned, turning onto my back.

"Huh?" It was Fabian.

"Oh," I answered. "Uh, what is it? You can come in if you want."

He opened the door, walked in, and closed it after him. "Are you okay?"

"Frustrated, but otherwise fine. Why?"

"I was just wondering. You seemed pretty upset after classes." He hesitantly walked over and sat down next to me.

I shook my head. "It's just… It's hard being somewhere new, you know? The only people I know are you all, and Patricia hates me. Or, well, if she doesn't she's slowly climbing up the ladder to it."

"Giana, she doesn't hate you. She's… well, she's Patricia. She made Nina go through a horrible and painstaking initiation process last term, as well as a lot of other pointless things, and finally after some time, she let us go back to our lives."

"Do you think she'll do the same to me?"

"It's hard to say. I mean, you actually stand your ground and don't just take it, like what Nina did. I admire you for that."

"You do?" I felt my cheeks flare up. Trying to regain my composure, I decided to switch topics. "So, uh… Fabian. Tell me about yourself."

He chuckled. "Well, my uncle owns an antique shop down the road from the school - he's nice, but a bit… eccentric. When I'm not here, I live with my parents and older siblings in London. I have a brother and sister, Dan and Emily. What about you?"

"Well, I'm from America… obviously. My parents are still together like yours, and I have an older brother named Nicolo. Mom and Dad decided to keep the Italian heritage alive by naming us as such."

"So, are you actually _from_ Italy? It's just that I know you can speak Italian, so excuse me if I'm just making an assumption."

I laughed. "No, it's fine! My grandparents from both sides came here from Italy, speaking little-to-no English, and that's why I know Italian. My parents grew up speaking it and decided to teach Nico and I."

"That's cool." I could tell he wanted to ask something else, but was refraining from doing so. I simply shrugged and stood up, stretching.

"Did Trudy say dinner would be ready soon?" I asked. "I'm starving."

"Oh, yeah," he responded. "Er, that's partially why I came up here in the first place. I was gonna tell you that dinner would be ready in about ten minutes… Which is now."

"Well, want to head downstairs before everyone notices we're missing?"

He nodded as I grabbed my cane and unfolded it.

* * *

><p>Dinner actually wasn't going as bad as last night.<p>

Well, other than Alfie and Jerome starting a food fight. At least I didn't end up with water all over me again.

"Giana," Patricia started off, "I'm sorry."

The room fell silent.

"You're sorry for…" I trailed off.

"I'm sorry for pouring water on you and being rude to you for no reason," she responded.

"And…?"

She huffed. "And for stealing your cane. It was wrong."

I heard a thud. Looking over, I noticed Alfie was on the floor, evidently falling out of his chair.

"Are you all really that shocked she's apologizing?" I asked.

"Well, yeah," Mick answered.

"The only time she ever really said she was sorry was when she apologized to Amber for pouring water on her, and to me for the consecutive hazing my first few weeks here," Nina added.

"So basically, Patricia I'm-Never-Wrong Williamson has apologized a total of three times in her life," Jerome joked.

"No surprise there," I said under my breath. Nina, Fabian and Amber seemed to hear it, though. I heard them trying to suppress giggles. "Uh, thanks, Patricia. I accept your apology."

She sighed. "Good."

"Well now that that's over, I have homework to do," I said. "Excuse me."

I got up, cleared my plate, and went back to my room, not looking forward to the mountain of work that I was about to tackle.

* * *

><p><span>Fabian's POV:<span>

After Giana left, the room was quiet again.

"Patricia, that was oddly nice of you," I stated.

"Yeah, well, I guess she's okay," she replied. "She's a bit weird though."

"No she's not," Mara chimed in. "She's quite nice. And seems independent."

"By the way, Patricia, it wasn't nice of you _at all_ to steal her cane from her," Amber added. "She was really upset about it! How would you feel if you were in her position and someone had done that to you?"

Patricia just shrugged and continued eating.

* * *

><p>Later, I found myself in my room, thinking about Gigi. I liked her - I thought she was nice, funny, and kind of cute. But I did kiss Nina last term at prom… Time for some advice from Mick.<p>

"Hey Mick," I started off.

"Yeah mate?" he responded, tossing a football in the air as always. "What's up?"

"What do you think of Giana?"

He hesitated, holding the ball under his arm. "I think she's alright. Why?"

"Well, there's a slight problem."

I relayed to him my feelings, as well as how conflicted I felt about when I kissed Nina last term. He mostly nodded, then took a cold, hard look at me when I finished. He set the ball down and sat on his bed.

"You know what you gotta do?" he asked.

"No," I answered. "That's why I'm asking you."

"You have to talk to Nina first - tell her how you feel, and be easy about it. You don't want to hurt her feelings any more than you may do."

I nodded. "Alright. Then what?"

"Secondly," he continued, "you should talk to Gigi. Alone. But give it a while… maybe a few weeks until she gets settled in and things with you and Nina boil over. You don't want to be jumping from girl-to-girl like that, mate."

"Okay, got it. Thanks, Mick."

"Any time."

"Hey, I have a question: How do you know all this?"

"Dude, I dated Amber. She's the queen of matchmaking and girl advice. I guess some of it accidentally rubbed off on me." I laughed. "It's not manly and I hate it!"

"Whatever you say, mate. I'm going to bed. Night."

"Night."

That night I spent tossing and turning, until I finally fell asleep and dreamt of none other than Giana.


	4. House of Surprises

**Here's chapter 4! Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I own nothing but my OCs and this plot line.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Four: House of Surprises<strong>

Nina's POV:

I noticed Giana and Fabian were becoming really close. Seeing as she's only been here a day and a half, I shouldn't have been worried, right? I mean, that's how my friendship with Fabian started - Fast Friends.

But I _was_ worried. Well, a little.

I mean, he'd helped me out the most last term with the whole mystery and finding out what the teachers had done to Joy, etc., but I always thought he had liked me. I guess if he didn't after all, then I should be happy for him, right?

Right.

_But… the kiss,_ I thought.

We had kissed at prom, and even though I know jumping to conclusions isn't the smartest thing to do in situations like that, I thought we were together… Or would have been by now, anyway. Evidently I was wrong.

"Hey, Gigi," I started off, sitting down on my bed. She was doing some homework. "Can I ask you something?"

She looked up. "Oh, hi Nina. What's up?"

"Well…" I hesitated. "Do you… have feelings for Fabian?"

She averted her gaze. "No," she answered shortly, returning to her work.

I shrugged. "It's okay if you do - I'm just curious."

"I've only been here a day and a half, Nina," she replied, closing a book. "I think of Fabian as a good friend… Maybe I _might_ have _some_ feelings for him, but it's too soon to tell. He is very nice, though - I'll give him that." She stretched. "Anyway, it's getting late. What time's curfew around here?"

"Well-" I was cut off by Amber entering the room and flopping down on to her bed. Just then, we heard the oh-so-familiar bellowing of Victor's voice from the foyer.

"It's ten o' clock!" he shouted. "You all know what that means. You have five minutes _precisely,_ and then I want to hear a pin… _drop._"

Giana got up and closed the door, turning to my general direction. "So. That's it, huh? He gives a speech, drops a pin, and we're all supposed to be asleep in bed?"

"And then he goes to his creepy office and falls asleep," Amber added, flipping through yet another fashion magazine. "But normally, we'd-" she cut herself off and put a hand to her mouth. "Never mind."

"What?" Gigi asked. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"No," I answered hastily. "No. I'm telling the truth. Everything's fine. Completely normal!"

She sighed and we all got ready for bed.

* * *

><p>About an hour after lights-out, I was awoken by the light from my Eye of Horus locket. Tip-toeing over to Amber's bed, I gently shook her awake.<p>

"Amber. Attic. Now." I whispered. "I'm calling a Sibuna meeting."

She groaned and complied, the two of us quietly leaving our room and shutting the door.

* * *

><p><span>Giana's POV:<span>

I woke up to the sound of the door closing. Beforehand I had heard Nina whisper something to Amber, and then they both left, just like that.

I got up out of bed and found my robe and slippers, as it would most likely be a bit cold in the attic - wherever that was. I was almost positive Victor had told me that going up into the attic or down into the cellar was out-of-bounds and in need of punishment, but I wasn't about to go ratting out my roommates.

Grabbing a flashlight, I made my way out into the hall, trailing the wall so it'd be easier to locate the space where the attic door was. I took a bobby pin out of my hair and picked the lock, opening it as quietly as I could.

A blast of cold air hit me as I slowly started going up the stairs, closing the door behind me. I eventually found myself in a large, dingy room, dimly-lit by a colorful stained-glass window that was straight ahead.

My night vision wasn't any better than my day vision - in fact, it was worse - but I somehow managed to avoid all the clutter, trailing along one of the walls with my left hand. My right held the flashlight.

I was freaking out a bit, but I didn't want to show it.

At one point, the wall felt different. It was… hollow, almost. I put my hand to it and sighed heavily, wondering if something was behind it, as well as what it could even _be._

Almost as if the House could read my mind, the wall - which was now considered a panel, I guess - slid open, and I fell into a smaller room, hitting the cold, wooden floor.

Getting the feeling that I was being stared at, I lifted my head and flashlight, looking up. Six curious and confused pairs of eyes were boring into my head as I slowly moved into a sitting position.

"Um… hi," I said simply, playing with my hair. It was one of the mannerisms I had when I got nervous. "What's up?"

* * *

><p><span>Nina's POV:<span>

"Er, you tell us," I stated. "No offense, Gigi, but… why are you here?"

She moved more into the room, the panel closing behind her. "Being nosey?" she answered in a small voice, still fidgeting with her hair. "I, uh, overheard you whispering to Amber about going to the attic and then the door closed… so I followed you."

We all stared at her, and I felt _so_ stupid. It was my fault she'd found out about the secret attic panel - wait!

"Giana!" I whisper-shouted. "How… How did you get in here?"

"What, the panel?" she asked. "I was leaning up against it and it just, well, opened. Then I fell into this little room. Why?"

I stared blankly at her, then turned to stare at everyone else in the dim light. No one moved.

Finally, Jerome was the first to speak. And he actually sounded scared.

"But… Nina's the only one who can open the panel, as well as the other secret passages in the House," he said.

Fabian then took over. "It's her necklace," he explained. "The Eye of Horus. It only works for her, but here you are…"

Hands shaking, I removed the locket from around my neck and placed it in Giana's hand.

It started glowing again.


	5. House of Explanations

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I own nothing but my OCs and this plot line.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Five: House of Explanations<strong>

Giana's POV:

"Okay, so… we're sitting in a little secret room," I pointed out. "Uh, guys? Why are we here?"

"Well, _we_ were having a meeting," Patricia answered. "Then you showed up and now we're all confused."

"So… This locket…" I felt the odd shape and its chain dangling from my hand. I could make out some red thing glowing, and when I looked closer, I noticed it was some type of jewel and the overall design was kind of like an eye. "The Eye of Horus?" I questioned.

"It's a symbol for protection," Amber explained. "You see, the Egyptians-"

Nina elbowed her and she quieted.

"You're all weird," I muttered. "So… What does this thing have to do with me?"

"Nothing," Jerome answered quickly. "Absolutely nothing."

I shrugged and put the locket back in the floor. "Whatever. I'm going back to bed."

* * *

><p><span>Fabian's POV:<span>

_Okay, now or never,_ I thought. About a week had passed and things were settling down a bit. Giana seemed to be getting along great with everyone - even Patricia. I stood outside the door to her, Nina and Amber's room, with the intent of following Mick's advice and telling Nina what I had to say. I knocked.

"Come in!" she answered. Opening the door, I was relieved to see she was alone.

"Hi, Neens," I said. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," she responded. "What's up?"

I told her everything that was going on - how I had developed feelings for Giana and how I was sorry about what it meant. She nodded and smiled sadly.

"I understand," she said after a pause. "Have you talked to her about it?"

"No," I answered. "Also, I don't want you or anyone else in Sibuna to mention anything about last term or the secrets of the House, locket, Cup or anything else. I want to tell her myself."

"Okay… Why?"

"I think it would be better that way," I put simply. "I just don't want her getting hurt - or, well, anyone for that matter. Alright?"

"Um, yeah, alright."

"Good." I paused. "I'm sorry, Nina. I really am."

"It's okay," she answered, shrugging. "I guess I understand. As confusing as it may be, at least."

* * *

><p><span>Giana's POV:<span>

A few weeks had passed and I was up in my room, reading. The House was quiet for the most part - until I heard someone knocking.

"Come in," I said.

"Hi." It was Fabian. "Listen, we need to talk." He came in and closed the door.

"I have nothing to say to you right now," I answered, closing my book.

"Giana-"

"Let's recap what happened three and a half weeks ago, okay? My second night here, I heard Nina and Amber talking about going up into the attic after lights-out. I followed them and stumbled upon all of you sitting in some little secret room, just hanging out. Nina handed me some locket she had and the jewel started glowing. Now, no one will talk to me except Mick and Mara, who are probably in the same boat as me due to the fact that I don't think they know what's going on either."

"I can't tell you," he said quietly. He hesitantly walked over to my desk chair and sat down. "Nina would kill me."

"That's the thing!" I exclaimed. "Nina this, Nina that! Why don't you two just _go out_ already? I heard what happened at the end of last term - that you guys kissed at your prom or whatever it was. Mara told me. Now you're being all buddy-buddy with her and the rest of them, not bothering to tell Mara, Mick and I what's going on. I mean, I understand you're all probably plotting some conspiracy against the Prime Minister or Queen or something, but why did you snub me off yesterday? We were supposed to study for French!"

"Something came up," he answered quickly. "We-"

"You all left the House and went on some secret mission, yeah, okay. I went over stuff with Mara while Mick just sat there clueless as always. The point is, why won't you tell me whatever's going on? I want to know!"

He stood up. "It's complicated, alright?"

"No, it's not!" I jumped to my feet. "Do you know how _hard_ it is, being roommates with Amber and Nina? They're always whispering to each other and looking at me like I'm some kind of alien, and then they go off with you, Patricia, Jerome and Alfie and you all do God-knows-what! I'm tired of being out of the loop, and I'm the only one who seems to notice these things! Mara's too wrapped up in Jerome, but he's off with you guys all the time and she doesn't think anything's out-of-the-ordinary. Mick's a Meathead in general, but still. If you don't tell me, I'm going to Victor with this!"

"He already knows!" We had finally reached the shouting point. "He and Mr. Sweet know, as well as the rest of the teachers! The only one who doesn't is Trudy, and we'd love it if it stayed that way!"

"But why won't you tell _me_? The panel opened by itself that one time when I leaned against it, and it doesn't seem to do that for any of you other than Nina and she needs that locket or whatever it is to do it! I don't understand what's going on, and I think I deserve to!"

"It's dangerous!" He took a step forward.

"I can _handle_ danger!"

"No you can't!"

"You don't even _know_ me!"

"Giana, I want to keep you _safe!_"

"But there's something going on in this House that I'm now apparently involved in! Why do you go sneaking off all the time? Why did the panel open for me without the use of Nina's locket? What in the _world_ is going on?"

"I _can't_ tell you!"

"Yes, you _can!_"

"I don't _want_ to tell you!"

"Fine, then I'll go ask Nina!" I took a step toward the door.

"She won't tell you! This whole thing was her idea in the first place! It started last term."

I gave him a defiant look. "I don't get why you're all so secretive in this House!"

"I _care_ about you! _That's_ why we're secretive! If it were up to Nina or anyone else, you would've known by now, but I told everyone to keep quiet because I don't want your _life_ being put in danger!"

"I've hardly been here a month!" I shouted. "What are you even _talking_ about? You've all been avoiding me like the _plague_ as soon as that locket started to glow, and now you come to my room and confess-"

I never got a chance to finish, because the next thing I knew, he was kissing me.

It took me so much by surprise, that my heart was in my throat. But after a moment, when I regained some sort of composure and dignity, I kissed back. It was perfect.

He gently put his hands on my waist and pulled me closer, and my hands rested on his shoulders. At some point, I felt his tongue lightly trail my lower lip, and I obliged. We ended up making out, or "snogging", as they called it.

I heard the doorknob begin to turn, feeling the need to ignore it. After a moment, there was a crash and people protesting.

"Sorry!" It was Amber. She and the rest of our Housemates fell into the room, evidently having their ears pressed against the door.

Fabian and I broke apart, and although I couldn't see the expression on his face, I was confident he'd said everything he needed to, and more.

He put his arm around me. "Hi, guys." he said.

_Well, this is awkward,_ I though. "Um, why were you all eavesdropping?"

"We heard shouting," Patricia answered. "You two are lucky Victor or Trudy didn't notice."

I shrugged. "You're all insane."


	6. House of Involvement

**Hi!**

**I'm so sorry I haven't gotten this up sooner! The website was being a troll and school's really sort of taking its toll on me (well, the lack of sleep and the fact that my roommate's inconsiderate), but I hope you find this chapter worth it!**

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I own nothing but my OCs and this plot line.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six: House of Involvement<strong>

Giana's POV:

After everyone left to give us some privacy, I turned to Fabian.

"What was that about?" I asked. "I was just ranting and then the next thing I know we're making out."

He sighed and put a hand on my shoulder. "Giana," he started off, "I've wanted to kiss you ever since you got here."

I felt my cheeks flare up. "You did? What about-"

"I had a conversation with Nina two weeks ago. I'm sorry I've been avoiding you and everyone else has seemed a bit… iffy, lately. I'll explain everything to you, on one condition."

"Name it."

He took a deep breath. "Promise me, you'll be safe. That you'll take precautions when I say so, and listen to what Nina and anyone else tells you if there's any sort of danger around."

I nodded. "Alright. So what's with all the secrets?"

"Well, it's like this…"

And he relayed everything to me that's happened since Nina arrived last term.

"So… You're saying that all the teachers are in a race against this creep Rufus Zeno to gain immortality, but the last time you saw the guy, Alfie was faking dead, and now he's on the loose somewhere out there still thinking he can't die."

"Basically," he responded.

I nodded slowly. "Okay… But what about Nina's locket? And how the panel opened for me when I leaned against it that second night?"

"I have no idea, Gigi." He sighed again. "I don't even have any theories to go along with it."

"And Mick and Mara know nothing." I stated.

"Right."

"I thought so! Why don't you include them? Or, well, Mara at the very least? She's logical, maybe she can help you figure it out!"

He chuckled. "I don't think it'll work like that," he stated. "She probably won't believe us, for a start, and secondly, it'd have to be cleared by Nina. She's basically the leader of things."

"Well she doesn't seem to be doing such a great job," I muttered. "On to a different topic: I still can't understand why you like me."

"What do you mean? There's plenty of things I like about you. For starters, I think you're beautiful."

I could feel my face turning deep scarlet. "I… You do?"

"Mhm."

I shook my head slowly. "If I could really see what you looked like, I'd return the compliment."

He gently kissed my forehead. "Don't worry about it," he whispered. "I still think you're adorable no matter what."

"I doubt that," I muttered.

"You need to gain some sort of self esteem."

"Can I join Sibuna?" I asked bluntly. I think this took him by surprise, as he didn't seem to answer right away.

"It's fine with me," he said. "Everyone's going to have to go along with it whether they like it or not. You know everything that's happened since last term, and now you're kind of involved - we still need to figure out why that thing with the panel happened - so, yes, you may of course join Sibuna."

"Awesome! What do I have to do?"

"Er, well," he rubbed the back of his neck. "You'll join us for a meeting in the clearing in the woods, and we'll have the initiation ceremony. You'll need to sacrifice something by throwing it into a fire."

My face fell. "You said what now?"

"It could be anything," he quickly continued. "I sacrificed a book, much to my dismay. Nina sacrificed a little keychain charm, and Amber threw in a photo of herself. Patricia put in one of her clip-in hair extensions, and Alfie his jester's hat."

I sighed. "Okay, then. I'll look around for something to burn in the initiation fire. But I have a question."

"Of course, Giana, anything."

"Are we kind of in a relationship now, or…"

"Do you want to be?" he asked softly. He took my hand in his.

I blushed. "I, um… do you?"

"I asked first."

"Technically, I did, but… okay. Yes."

_"__Yes?__"_

I nodded.

"YES!" He pulled me into a hug, picked me up and spun me around, kissing my forehead once he'd put me down. All the while, I was giggling like an idiot.

* * *

><p>That night, I found myself sitting up in the attic, alone, turning over the Eye of Horus locket in my hands.<p>

"What are you hiding?" I whispered. "And more importantly, what's my connection to you?"

As if it could understand me, the strange locket started glowing again. I sighed, opening the clasp, not that I could see the photo inside.

My heart skipped a beat as I heard the door close, footsteps shortly following. I stuffed the locket in the pocket of my robe and crawled out of the patch of moonlight I was sitting in, settling by a box in the shadows

_What __if __it__'__s __Victor?_ I asked myself. _He __said __the __attic __was __off-limits!_

I couldn't see the shadow of whoever came into the room, but judging by their footsteps, I knew it couldn't have been him.

"Giana?" Nina whispered. "You're up here, I know it. Where are you?"

I stood up and walked out into the moonlight. "I'm here," I said. "Hi, Neens. What's up?"

"It's past lights-out," she put simply. "Amber and I were worried about you - we haven't seen you since dinner."

"I'm trying to figure out the locket and how I'm tied into the mystery."

"You should get to bed. We have classes tomorrow."

"I know…" I sighed. "Nina, what does all this mean? The locket works for both of us. Do you think there could be a Chosen Other?"

She shrugged. "I guess that _could_ be an option… But Sarah never mentioned anything about a Chosen Other, just that I was the Chosen _One_."

"But everyone thought _Joy_ was the Chosen One beforehand, didn't they? That's why they sent her away in the first place."

"Exactly."

"Ugh!" I threw my hands up in exasperation. "This is freaking ridiculous! Why can't anything be remotely easy anymore? First, I come here and Patricia's hazing me, then there were the complications with Fabian, but that's all fixed - the point still stands. Now there's this ancient mystery with Egyptian Gods, a race to gain immortality, and… I don't even know."

"But… You'll help us, right?" she asked quietly.

"I mean, I'm already involved as it is. Plus, Fabian told me everything earlier today. So, yes, I'll help you."

"Do you know what you're getting yourself into? It's going to be dangerous."

"Don't worry Nina, I'm totally willing to accept that. I can handle danger."

Well, I _thought_ I could handle danger.


	7. House of Arguments

**I hope you enjoy chapter seven!**

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I own nothing but my OCs and this plot line.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seven: House of Arguments<strong>

Giana's POV:

I was sitting in the drama studio, studying with some people from Biology, when Fabian suddenly appeared out of nowhere, tapping me on the shoulder and causing me to remove my earbuds. I set my laptop on the table in front of me and turned to him.

"Hey," he said. "What goes on?"

"Studying," I replied. "Uh, well, trying to. How about you?"

"Oh, you know…" He trailed off.

"We'll see you later, Gigi," one of the girls I was studying with said.

"Okay," I replied. "Bye, Mia. And everyone else."

"Ciao!"

Once they'd gone to another part of the room, I focused all my attention on Fabian. "So, have you guys found out anything new? Nina and I were thinking that there could be a Chosen Other, and-"

"Chosen Other?" he repeated. "No, we haven't found anything… You talked to Nina?"

"Yeah. Last night, I was up in the attic after Lights-Out, because I kind of feel a deeper connection to the House up there, you know? So, anyways, I was looking at the Eye of Horus locket, and-"

"You had the locket?" he interrupted once again.

"Yes!" I exclaimed, getting a bit agitated. "So I heard footsteps, and thinking it was Victor, I slid into the shadows so he wouldn't find me. But it turned out it was Nina, and she and Amber were worried about me because I'd gotten up and hadn't come back. We ended up talking about the locket and Sibuna, which I still haven't been initiated into properly by the way, and came to the conclusion that-"

"Giana, you shouldn't be up in the attic alone at night like that!" he exclaimed.

"Why?" I asked. "I was fine!"

"I know that, but something could have happened!" he countered. "You could easily have fallen over boxes or clutter, or hit your head on something, or gotten locked inside the panel… You said it yourself that your night vision is worse than your day vision, and I'm just worried about your wellbeing."

"Fabian, I'm not a child! I can take care of myself, alright?" My voice was rising, and I could tell some people nearby had stopped talking and turned to focus on our argument. "You don't have to worry about me or treat me differently just because I have less sight than you!"

"I'm just worried about you!"

"I understand, but there's no need to go over-the-top about it and be too overprotective of me! I can take care of myself, and if I _do_ end up needing help with anything, I'll let you know. Just… stop trying to dictate what I do, okay?"

"I'm not letting you wander off somewhere alone like that! You need to be _with_ someone. There are dangerous people out there, people who will stop at _nothing_ to get what they want. You could end up getting seriously hurt!"

"Look, Fabian." I had shut down my laptop and put it in my messenger bag, slipping my phone in the outside pocket. I stood up, looking at him in a defiant manner, and slung the bag over my shoulder. "I can handle myself, and I can handle danger. I love you and everything, but I don't need to be babied all the time! When will you understand that?"

"I don't think I ever will!" he shouted, standing as well.

"You just don't get it!"

"You know what? You're right! I _don__'__t_ understand! _No __one_ understands you! It's hard to understand you when I can't even gage how much you can see, let alone what I can and can't do in order to help you! I need you to just do what Nina or I say, and keep out of trouble! Got it?"

"No," I said quietly. "I don't."

I walked out of the drama studio, heading towards my locker and grabbed my winter coat, scarf, hat and gloves. Heading outside, I decided to take a walk into the woods at the edge of school, intending to go to the burnt-out tree in the clearing.

After about ten minutes of walking, still a bit miffed at Fabian, I heard some twigs snap nearby. Stopping in my tracks, I felt my heart beating faster, praying to God that I hadn't just gotten myself into a huge mess of danger.

"Who's there?" I asked. "I know you're here. Don't try to hide."

I turned around and let out a small scream as a man appeared right in front of me. He put his hands up in surrender stepped back.

"Giana De Luca?" he inquired. Like everyone else, he had an English accent.

"I… How do you know my name?" I shot back. "Who are you?"

"I'm Renee Zeldman," he answered.

_Renee __Zeldman?_ I asked myself. _Wait __a __minute__… __Oh __no, __not __now! __He__'__s __Rufus __Zeno!_

"I… I gotta go!" I exclaimed, turning on my heel and starting to make a run for it. Before I could even take a step, Rufus had grabbed the back of my coat collar and yanked me back toward him.

I started screaming, but he placed a hand over my mouth to make it quieter, also dragging me out of the woods in the process. Once we were out in the open, he grabbed the strap to my messenger bag and removed it from my shoulder, putting it on the ground in the process. He then took my cane and threw it, taking my wrist and pulling me off of the school grounds. He still had a hand over my mouth so I couldn't yell for help, and after five minutes or so, I ended up painfully thrown into the back of an uncomfortable, dark van.

_Crap,_ I thought. _Fabian __was __right. __I __am __such __an __idiot._

* * *

><p><span>Fabian's POV:<span>

"Have you seen Giana anywhere?" Amber asked me as we took our seats in History. "We were going to go through her wardrobe later."

I thought back to the argument in the drama studio. "We… got into a fight. It was back in the drama studio. She stormed out afterwards, and I haven't seen her since. I hope she's okay… it's not like her to skip class."

"FABIAN RUTTER, YOU ARE AN IDIOT!" she shouted, practically deafening me. "You should have gone _after_ her, duh! She could be in huge trouble!"

"Amber, do you think I don't know that?" I snapped. "I'm worried sick about her!"

"Well, you know what we gotta do, right?" Nina suddenly asked. "Let's ditch our afternoon classes and go find her! Come on!"

Putting our right hands over our eyes, we signaled for Patricia, Jerome and Alfie to join us. They all nodded in understanding, and we took off for our lockers.

* * *

><p>"Where do you think she'd go?" Patricia asked once we were outside. "It's not like she can get very far… plus, she can't see too well."<p>

"Let's just keep looking," Jerome said. We had reached the area where the woods started.

"Hey, guys! I think I found something!" Alfie exclaimed. "But, um, you're not going to like it."

Running over to where he stood, my jaw just about dropped to the ground. There, in the grass by the woods, was Giana's messenger bag, her cane a few yards away, unfolded.

"What's the meaning of all this?" I asked in alarm. Nina knelt down next to her bag.

"I don't know," she started off, "but we better get back to Anubis and tell Victor. Maybe she's been kidnapped!"

"I have a feeling Rufus is behind this," I muttered, slapping my palm to my forehead. "I'm such an idiot! Why did I have to argue with her? None of us would even be _in_ this mess if it weren't for me!"

"Fabian, calm down." Patricia tried being reassuring. "If Rufus _did_ take her, he'd have left us a-"

She was cut off by her text message alert going off.

"Um, strike that," she said, reading the message. "Guys, we have a problem."

"What?" we all asked in unison.

"Giana's been kidnapped by Rufus Zeno."

As I picked up her messenger bag and cane, fiddling with it for a few moments before figuring out how to fold it properly, I silently walked back to Anubis House with the others, praying that she'd be alright.

_This __is __my __fault,_ I thought. _I __shouldn__'__t __have __said __anything. __I __should__'__ve __tried __to __be __more __understanding._

"We need to find her," I said at last. "No matter what Victor says or what amount of danger we could be put in."


	8. House of Others

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I own nothing but my OCs and this plot line.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eight: House of Others<strong>

Giana's POV:

After about an hour of silence, riding in the darkness of the back of whatever van Rufus had thrown me into, he'd stopped unexpectedly. I listened carefully as he slammed the driver's side door, coming around to the back to let me out.

Cringing, I shielded my eyes from the brightness that ensued when he opened the back of the van. There was a thick layer of snow on the ground, and the sun seemed to be out, so the glare was especially bothering my eyes.

"Get out," he grumbled.

I hesitantly got out of the van, steadying myself when my feet hit the hard ground with a thud. My ankle started to hurt.

"Where are we?" I asked. "Why did you kidnap me?"

"You, Miss De Luca, are the Chosen Other. This means you have something to do with the Cup of Ankh, and you're also conveniently involved with those other brats at Anubis House… including that one boy who gave me the wrong elixir."

I gasped, trying to struggle out of his hold. "Fabian did the right thing! And I know nothing about where the Cup is - I haven't even been here a month!"

"You're _lying,_" he snarled, leading me into a dark warehouse. "You know the information I need, and you're going to divulge it to me, whether you want to or not."

"They know I'm gone," I stated. "The police will be looking for me in no time. You'll be found out!"

"Oh, I've heard that before," he muttered, shaking his head. "That's almost exactly what Patricia Williamson said to me when I kidnapped her earlier in the year."

I was actually starting to get scared.

"You kidnapped Patricia?" I squeaked. "But…"

"No one ever told you, did they?" he started. "How I was so close to gaining immortality? How that stupid _Rutter_ boy stopped me from being the most powerful man on earth with one simple switch? How that Lewis boy would be _dead_ if I had succeeded?"

By this point, he had shoved me up against a wall. "You, Miss De Luca, are going to tell me everything you know, so I can seek my revenge on those _rats_ you call your friends," he continued, taking out a knife, "or you will face the consequences."

"I don't know _anything!_" I shouted. "Let me go!"

My coat and blazer were torn off, the left sleeve of my grey sweater and white collared shirt rolled up afterwards. He pressed the blade to the skin of my forearm, but not enough to draw blood. Yet.

I swallowed hard.

"Are you going to tell me, or not?"

"No!" I protested. "I already told you - I don't know anything! Why won't you believe- AH!"

He had dug the blade in deep enough for my arm to bleed, removing the knife once he was satisfied. There was a small gash across my arm.

"It's your choice," he said sinisterly, shoving me even closer up to the wall. "You either admit that you know where the Cup of Ankh is and that your so-called friends are alive and well, or you can die, out here, in the middle of nowhere. Where no one can find you."

That's when I started screaming.

* * *

><p><span>Nina's POV:<span>

"Ouch," I muttered, rubbing my arm. I gritted my teeth and sucked in some air, turning to my friends. "That was weird."

"What?" Amber asked. We were sitting in our room, waiting for Victor to finish talking to the teachers in his office. "Are you alright?"

"My arm…" I trailed off, rolling up the sleeve of my cardigan. "It felt like someone was stabbing it with a knife."

"Odd," Jerome noted, shaking his head. "I wonder why."

Fabian was quietly sitting off to the side, staring off into space.

"Are you alright, mate?" Alfie asked.

"I'm an idiot," he answered, repeating himself for the hundredth time. "I-"

"You shouldn't have started an argument with Giana and had her run off, possibly landing in imminent doom," Patricia finished. "We know."

"You don't understand," he muttered. "I love her."

"You're right, we don't understand," I agreed. "I know you love her, but we have to find her!"

"Miss Martin!" Victor called. "My office!"

"Ugh," I groaned, getting up. The stabbing pain in my arm had subsided. "Hopefully I'll be back."

"Good luck," they said in unison.

* * *

><p>"You're telling me what?" I asked, dumfounded.<p>

"Miss Martin, I am telling you that Miss De Luca is the Chosen Other," he explained. "If you believe that Rufus Zeno has kidnapped her while she ran off, then we are all in trouble." He was resting his head in his hands.

"Okay, but what do you mean she's the Chosen Other? Does that give her any powers?"

"She also has the ability to use the locket, but if she's accessing the attic panel or anything else that is required to use the locket to open, she may also be able to enter those places without having to use it."

"That explains why she fell into the panel empty-handed that night," I muttered. It all made sense now! "I had a stabbing feeling in my arm earlier," I told him. "Do you think that could have something to do with Giana being the Chosen Other? Can I feel what she feels, physically?"

"Maybe, Miss Martin," he answered. "But we do have to find her. She could be in grave danger."

"Alright, what should we do?" I prodded.

"Nothing," he put simply. "Mr. Sweet, Mrs. Andrews and I will handle it. Now run along, Miss Martin."

Bewildered, I went back to my room, relaying everything Victor had said to Sibuna.

"This is insane," Fabian stated. "What are we doing, just sitting around here? We have to find her!"

"You heard what Victor said!" Amber shouted. "And I'm not really in the mood to die any time soon, thanks!"

"Amber!" I exclaimed.

"Come on guys, grab your coats," Patricia interrupted. "We're going on a dangerous mission that may leave us scarred for life, or dead."

As fast as possible, we snuck downstairs and took our winter gear, leaving the house right after. Oddly enough, neither Trudy, Mick, nor Mara had appeared to notice our absence.

"I hope we find her," Fabian said quietly. "We _have_ to."

"I hope she's alive," I muttered, agreeing.

Just then, Giana's phone started ringing. The talking caller ID on her phone said **'****Call ****from: ****Nico****'**.

"Uh, guys?" I started. "We have a problem. Gigi's brother's calling."


	9. House of Rationality

**Enjoy chapter 9! And I'm hoping to get more reviews on this, so…**

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I own nothing but my OCs and this plot line.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nine: House of Rationality<strong>

Nina's POV:

We all stared at Giana's phone, dumbfounded, as it continued ringing.

"Isn't someone going to answer that?" Amber whispered.

Swallowing hard, I double-tapped the answer button on the iPhone's touch screen, as indicated by the phone's screen reader. I put her brother on speaker.

"Giana!" he exclaimed. "How's England been? I haven't heard much from you in a few weeks. Tori's here, too. Say hi!"

"Hi, Gigi!" a girl shouted excitedly in the background.

"Um," I started off, "this is Nina. I'm one of Giana's roommates." I hesitated. "She's, uh, not here right now."

"Oh, sorry," he said. "I'm Nicolo, her older brother. But you can call me Nico. Nice to meet you, Nina."

"Nice to meet you, too." I replied.

"So… where's my sister?"

"Well…" I paused, looking around at my friends for guidance. Fabian opened his mouth, about to say something, but quickly shut it and looked away. I sighed, exasperated. "We don't know."

The line went silent, then, "WHAT DO YOU _MEAN_ YOU DON'T KNOW?" he shouted.

"Now, let's think rationally," I started, trying to reason with him. "She's been kind of… kidnapped." Then I quickly added, "I mean… she ran off earlier today, and we're assuming someone found her and is holding her for ransom."

"How do you know?"

"Our caretaker got a note from the kidnapper," I lied.

"Do my parents know?" he prodded.

"I… don't think so…" I answered awkwardly.

"That's it!" he exclaimed. He then moved his mouth a bit away from the phone. "Tori, go home, pack some things, and grab your passport. Meet me back here in half an hour. We're going to England. My sister's missing."

"Nico, wait!" I protested.

The line went dead. He hung up.

"Awesome," Patricia muttered.

"Now what?" Jerome complained. "We can't sit around here and wait for them!"

"I say we do this," I reasoned. "We'll divide ourselves up. Patricia, Fabian and I will go find Rufus and Giana. Jerome, you'll stay here with Alfie and Amber, and wait for Nico and Tori to arrive. When they get here, text one of us. Make sure Mick, Mara and Trudy know nothing. Got it?"

Dejected and muttering incoherent, probably insulting things, the two boys headed back into the house, Amber following happily behind them.

"Good luck, guys! Sibuna!" She put her right hand over her right eye and closed the door behind her.

"Now what?" Patricia asked, crossing her arms.

"Simple," Fabian piped up. "We follow the trail. Let's go back to the spot where we saw her bag. Maybe there'll be some sort of clue there."

* * *

><p>We arrived near the woods, and sure enough, there was something we missed, laying out in the open.<p>

"A note," I stated quietly, picking up the damp piece of paper. There was a layer of snow on the ground that couldn't have been helping much.

"What's it say?" Patricia asked.

"'If you ever want to see your bratty little friend again, come find me and give me the Cup of Ankh by tomorrow. Do it, or she dies,'" I read aloud. "It's signed R.Z."

Fabian winced and Patricia's expression fell. Despite the arguments at the beginning of the term, I thought she actually ended up having a good relationship with Giana. Now, it looked like none of us would see her unless we gave Rufus the Cup.

"The Cup's not supposed to work for another twenty-five years," Fabian pointed out. "Doesn't he remember that?"

"My guess is he just wants it to keep it safe and away from us, since we've been trying to mess everything up for him since the beginning," I answered. They shrugged.

"We'd better get a move on," Patricia urged. Silently slipping the note into my pocket, we disappeared into the woods.

* * *

><p><span>Nicolo's POV:<span>

About eight or so hours later, Tori and I arrived in London's Heathrow airport, waiting at baggage claim.

"You're insane," she muttered. "I mean, I'm all for going to England in the middle of the semester, but _someone __kidnapped __Gigi!_ What if they're looking to do the same to you?"

"They probably don't even know I exist, let alone the fact that I'm here," I pointed out. Our luggage came around on the carousel. "Besides, it's not like they're actually going to _kill_ me if we end up finding her… right?"

"You never know."

* * *

><p>Once we'd gotten through Customs and Immigration without a problem (we had gotten forged papers saying we were transferring to Giana's school mid-term), Tori hailed a cab, and once I told the driver to take us to Anubis House School, his eyebrows shot up and he stepped on the gas - especially once we told him to hurry.<p>

"Just relax, Nico," Tori whispered. "We'll find Giana. Everything's going to be alright."

"I hope you're right, Tor. I really, _really_ hope you're right."

* * *

><p><span>Amber's POV:<span>

The House was quiet for once. Alfie, Jerome and I sat in the common room, the boys casually channel surfing on the TV while I read a fashion magazine.

"Where are the others?" Trudy asked as she set the table. "It's not like them to not be here this close to supper."

"They're studying in the library, Trudy," Jerome lied. "They, uh, won't be back till later."

"Alright, lovelies."

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

Neither of the boys moved, and Mick and Mara weren't anywhere in sight, so I sighed and mumbled "I'll get it," before standing up.

I opened the door to slim boy with a slight athletic build, about six or seven inches taller than I was. He had the same olive complexion as Giana, with matching chocolate brown eyes and almost-black hair, except his was cut into a moppy hairstyle instead of her slight curls. A shorter girl, looking similar except for her hazel eyes and straight hair about a shade lighter, stood next to him. The girl was smiling nervously, the boy looking like he was expecting danger around the nearest corner.

"Who are you?" I asked, opening the door a bit more.

"I'm Nicolo De Luca," he answered shortly. "You can call me Nico - I talked to Nina earlier." He gestured to the girl. "This is Victoria Esposito, Gigi's best friend and a friend of the family's daughter."

"You can call me Tori," the girl piped up.

"Amber, who is it?" Mara suddenly asked.

"Er, one moment, Mara!" I covered. "It's kind of important!"

Nico continued. "We're looking for my sister. You're Amber, am I right?"

"Yes, I'm Amber Millington," I answered, extending my perfectly manicured hand to shake hands with he and Tori.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Amber," Tori responded. "I just wish it were for better circumstances."

"I do too," Nico agreed, sighing.

"Come inside and drop your things off," I told them, fully opening the door and stepping aside. "We'll go soon, just wait a moment or two. I know it's dark outside, and I'll explain later, but we need to get a move on!"


	10. House of Chases

**DISCLAIMER.**

**I own nothing but my OCs and this plot line.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Ten: House of Chases<strong>

Nicolo's POV:

After Tori and I stashed our luggage upstairs in the room Giana shared with Nina and Amber, we went back down to have a quick meal and meet everyone - well, everyone who wasn't out on a dangerous mission looking for the kidnapper.

"It's nice to meet you, dearies." Trudy, their housemother, was very kind to us, asking if we wanted anything or subtly giving us more food than was necessary. "If you don't mind my asking, why have you decided to transfer here a month after the term started?"

"My parents thought it would be good for me to finish off my schooling abroad," I lied. "They also wanted someone else to be here if anything happened to Giana, as she and I are very close."

"Oh, she's at the library with the others! Didn't anyone tell you, Nico?" she asked.

I shot a glare at Amber, Alfie and Jerome. "No," I said quietly.

"They should be back by now… I wonder what's taking them so long."

"I'm just glad I'm here too," Tori piped up, spooning more ravioli on to her plate. "Your cooking is amazing, Trudy. It feels like home."

"Why thank you, Tori," she answered, smiling and leaving the room shortly after.

After dinner, Tori, Amber, Alfie, Jerome and I met in the front entryway, with Mara and Mick on cleanup duty. We quickly put on our winter coats and signed out, saying we were headed to visit students in another House.

Amber took out her phone and texted Nina, saying we had arrived. I then stopped in my tracks before we headed out the door.

"Where's Giana's messenger bag?" I asked, suddenly realizing something.

"Upstairs in our room," Amber answered. "Why?"

I ran up and retrieved it, heading back down and taking the steps two at a time. "Have you guys looked through it yet?" I prodded.

They shook their heads.

Setting down the peachy pink, white-strapped bag on the floor, I knelt down, opening it.

"MacBook Pro with its pink case and charger, iPhone charger, travel pack of kleenex, pens, notebook, nail file, lipgloss…" I muttered, taking everything out. "Her hat, scarf and gloves are missing. Wherever she went, she obviously remembered to dress warm." I put everything back and closed the bag. "Where's her phone?"

"Nina has it," Alfie answered.

Just then, Amber received a text message that seemed to shock her so much, she almost dropped her phone to the floor.

I got a glimpse of the message before she pulled it away and called Nina. It said: **Rufus ****needs ****the ****Cup, ****or ****Giana ****dies. ****Get ****it. ****You ****know ****where ****it ****is.**

"What the hell is she talking about?" I exclaimed, throwing my hands in the air. "What Cup? What is this nonsense? And why is my sister's life being threatened? HOW COME NO ONE'S DOING ANYTHING ABOUT THIS?"

"Nico, relax!" Amber shouted. "Alfie. Jerome. Go across to the school and look under the stage. You'll find the Cup there - Nina hid it at the end of last term. Go! Now! Meet us at the clearing in the woods when you've gotten it!"

The two boys nodded and literally ran out of the house, slamming the door behind them.

"Come on," she continued, shoving Tori and I out of the house, closing the door behind all of us. "Let's go. I'll explain everything."

* * *

><p>"You expect me to believe," I started, stumbling through the woods with the four of them, "that Nina is the Chosen One and my sister is the Chosen Other, and unless this Rufus Zeno creep gets the Cup of Ankh - which I <em>still<em> have no idea what it is - he's going to kill her?"

"Basically," Jerome answered, finally turning on his flashlight.

I shook my head. "You're all crazy!"

"Hey, that's what you sister said too!" Amber exclaimed. "You two really _are_ related!"

I rolled my eyes.

Tori sighed. "Nico, sometimes you gotta believe in a little insanity. Maybe _we__'__re_ not the ones who are insane - maybe it's just life."

"Tori, that was possibly one of the deepest things you've said since… ever."

"Hey! I'll have you know I can be quite deep and poetic when I feel like it!"

"Guys, stop it!" Jerome shushed us. "Look. There's Nina and the others."

Squinting, I noticed a few flashlights up ahead. Once we got closer, I could hear people arguing with each other.

* * *

><p><span>Nina's POV:<span>

Fabian and Patricia were arguing about something, and I hadn't paid enough attention to find out what it was.

"Guys, shut up!" I exclaimed. We had stopped walking for a bit as it was starting to get even colder out. "Ouch!"

"What's wrong?" Fabian asked.

I rubbed my left forearm. "Rufus," I muttered. "He's been… I don't even wanna think about it."

"Another stabbing feeling?"

I nodded. His face hardened.

"We have to find her.

"I know!" I exclaimed. "But we have to wait for the others. They have the Cup - and, well, Nico and Tori, too."

"What's up?" Alfie asked. They had come out of nowhere, and it was then, in the dim light, that I saw our two visitors.

There was a tall, slim, slightly-athletic boy, wearing a black leather jacket, jeans, and navy blue Converse high-tops with a knit beanie a few shades lighter. His hair looked moppy, the same shade as Giana's. I couldn't see his eyes to judge the color. He looked to be about the same height as Jerome, if not an inch taller. I had a guess he was Nico.

The girl, on the other hand, was shorter and had lighter, straighter hair, and wore a grey, knit hat with cat ears and a cat face, whiskers and all. She had on a blue-green peacoat, dark jeans, and sandy-colored, furry Ugg boots with the button on the side. She looked as if she were freezing, and she had more layers on than Nico. She had to have been Tori.

"Nina, Patricia, Fabian," Jerome started, "meet Nico and Tori." He gestured to each of them individually. "Now that we're all acquainted, let's go find Giana, shall we?"

"I had another feeling," I said. "A stabbing in my arm."

Their expressions fell. Nico's eyes flickered.

"Let's move," he said.

* * *

><p><span>Giana's POV:<span>

I was freezing.

My left arm throbbed so badly, even when I didn't move it. The lights were on in the back room of the warehouse, where I was sprawled out on the floor, and I quickly glanced over to find more blood than I thought necessary running down my poor arm.

I could just make out something engraved where the stab wounds were.

It was a word.

A word was engraved on my arm.

It said _Worthless._

_Come __on, __guys,_ I prayed. _Where __are __you?_


	11. House of Threats

**DISCLAIMER.**

**I own nothing but my OCs and this plot line.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eleven: House of Threats<strong>

Nicolo's POV:

After wandering through the woods in the semi-darkens for what seemed like hours, we stumbled upon a warehouse in the middle of nowhere. Checking my phone, I noticed it was around eleven at night. Turning to the others, I gave them a confused look.

"Should we go in?" I asked pointedly.

Nina nodded. "Yeah. This is it. Let's go."

"So… We're just gonna give this creep the Cup of Immortality and run?"

"Er, well, it's a bit more complicated than that," Fabian muttered, rubbing the back of his neck with his gloved hand. It was freezing out, and snow was just starting to fall.

"What do you mean?" I eyed him suspiciously.

"We'll have to assess the situation," he continued. "I'll go in with Nina, Nico, Alfie and Jerome. Patricia, Amber and Tori? Stay out here in case of emergency. If you hear someone scream, run."

"No way," Patricia protested. "I'm going in whether you like it or not."

"You're too damn stubborn, Trixie," Jerome commented. "Whatever. Let's get a move on."

We entered the dim warehouse to find it cluttered with boxes and tools, the occasional tyre or scrap of cloth strewn about. Scanning the area in what little light we had, I found a door leading to a back room. Pushing it open slightly, I almost let out a scream so loud that it would've woken our grandparents in Italy.

There, in the dim light and a pool of blood, sprawled out on the floor with a torn uniform shirt, lay my sister, left arm outstretched.

I swallowed hard and turned back to the group. I couldn't find words to form, so instead I motioned them forward, pointing to the room. Stepping back so I was in the main part of the warehouse, I felt like my entire world had crashed around me, and everything was moving so slowly it bothered me to no end.

I stepped into the room again, looking at everyone's faces. Fabian had the same expression as I did, and it was then that I wondered if he had feelings for Giana.

Everybody started talking at once.

"Someone call an ambulance!" Amber shouted.

"Call 911!" Tori exclaimed, rushing over to her best friend.

"Tori, you're in England now! There _is_ no 911!" Nina exclaimed.

"Well, call the equivalent then! I don't care! DO SOMETHING!"

I rushed over to my sister's side, kneeling down next to her. Fabian did the same and was on my right. Gingerly, I picked up her left arm to find something had been carved into it, still bleeding profusely. It was a word.

"Worthless," Fabian whispered, looking at what I saw.

All of my emotions then channeled to rage. Instantly, I stood up, scanning around for the monster that did this. Then I heard a voice that could've chilled the the entire world with just one syllable.

"So, you've found me," a calm-sounding man told us nonchalantly, stepping into the room and surveying everything. "And, you've found _her._" He jabbed a finger at Giana. "Now. Where's the Cup of Ankh?"

Without thinking of the consequences, I stormed forward, pulled my arm back, and punched him square in the jaw. He looked astonished.

"How - could - you - do - that - to - my - sister!" I shouted, taking breaks between each word to continue to punch him. Alfie and Jerome came up behind me and held me back. Rufus just stepped back and started laughing, bruises forming on his face.

"She has a _brother?_" he asked, bemused. "I had no idea. Tell me, would you care to join her when you're done? Would you like to die as well?"

"She's not going to die," I protested. "Not if I have anything to do about it."

"Ah, but here, you are sadly mistaken." He walked over to Nina, grabbing the messenger bag off her shoulder. "This," he continued, searching through it, "is what I've been looking for. This will help me gain immortality!"

I gawked at the jewel-adorned gold cup that was pulled from Nina's bag. It resembled a very fancy, very large goblet, and as soon as he was holding it, he shoved the bag back at her in a violent way, then turning his attention to the cup.

"You're crazy," I said.

"Only slightly," he answered, smiling wickedly. "Now, let's see here… I have the Chosen One, the Chosen _Other,_ the Chosen Other's _brother,_ their group of bratty friends, and a boy who is supposed to be dead." He pointed to Alfie. "You. Why aren't you dead?"

Alfie swallowed and looked around nervously. Ever since Tori and I got here a few hours ago, that was the first time I'd ever seen him actually _scared._ I guessed it was the same for the others, as they all looked as if we'd lost all hope.

"Oh, that's right," Rufus continued, ignoring Alfie's expression and sputtering. He jabbed another finger at Fabian. "_This __boy_ decided to switch the elixir at the last minute, instead giving me something that would _not_ grant me immortality. Very clever, boy. You should join me once this ordeal is over."

"I'll join you when Hell freezes over!" he shouted, stepping forward and grabbing the Cup from Rufus' hands. "This," he continued, holding up the Cup for all to see, "doesn't belong to you. You have no business in using it, and plus, it only works every twenty-five years! Have you forgotten that, or are you planning on holding us all hostage until we're in our early forties?"

Rufus laughed maniacally, making us all cringe. "No," he answered. "I plan to kill the Chosen One and Other, then dispose of all you _rats_ in a slow and painful way, taking the Cup for myself."

"What about the elixir?" Jerome piped up. "No one has the recipe to that, and Victor will be long dead before he can figure out how to make more of it. You're just setting yourself up for your own demise!"

"Mr. Clarke, if I stand corrected, you used to work as my spy last term, did you not?"

My jaw dropped and I turned to Jerome. _"__What?__"_ I exclaimed. "But-"

"Not now, Nico!" he shouted. "I'd never work for this slime ball again."

"Oh, how you've made a huge mistake."

Then, everything happened in the blink of an eye.

* * *

><p><span>Giana's POV:<span>

My arm.

My arm was in searing pain. I was losing blood faster than I could try to stop it.

Worthless.

He had carved that word into my arm with a knife.

I was losing sense of what was around me. I was dizzy; my head spun wildly as I continued to lose blood. Eventually, I lapsed into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>It was dark. There was a light ahead of me, and some force was shoving me toward it involuntarily.<p>

_Don__'__t __go __towards __the __light!_ I scolded myself, trying to stay rooted. It didn't help. I ended up running forward.

"Giana." An old woman's voice came out of nowhere. "You are the Chosen Other. Go to your destiny!"

I tried looking around, but I couldn't see anything. The light was blinding me even more than I already was. I couldn't take it.

"Who are you?" I asked. "What's my destiny?"

"Sarah! My name is Sarah!" she exclaimed. "You are the Chosen Other. Reach out and take the Cup. Hold it. It will help you."

"But the reason I'm _in_ this mess is because the Cup of Ankh could fall into the wrong hands! Rufus Zeno tried to kill me - scratch that. He's _succeeding._ I'm dying as we speak!"

"Take the Cup," she repeated. "Hold it. It will help you."

"You're not making sense!" I shouted in frustration. Meanwhile, I was still being pushed towards the blinding, white light, fighting with all the strength and energy I had.

I heard voices. They were frantic. Shouting at one another. Shouting my name. Three of them sounded like they were crying.

Two of them sounded very familiar.

_Nico? __Tori?_ I asked myself. _Why __are __they __in __England? __What__…__?_

* * *

><p>The pain in my arm. It had returned, more than ever, ending in the worst pain I'd ever felt.<p>

Someone was shouting, threatening everyone.

It was getting colder. I was finding it hard to breathe.

"The Cup," I whispered. "I need it."

I felt something made of metal being pressed into my hand. It was cold… but I could feel its power working through my veins.


	12. House of Reasons

**Hi all! I don't think my next update will be until the end of this week, as I have a ton of stuff to do and Thanksgiving is on Thursday here in America, plus I have a concert (and my mom's birthday) on Friday.**

**So, I hope you enjoy it!**

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I own nothing but my OCs and this plot line.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twelve: House of Reasons<strong>

Nicolo's POV:

As we crowded around my dear sister, Amber fumbling with her cell phone to see if she could get service to call an ambulance, my gaze cast over to Rufus. Something was happening to him. It was as if he were getting older… right before our eyes.

"Take that blasted cup out of her hand!" he shouted.

"No!" I protested. The girls had all run outside to try and get cell phone signal, and Fabian was knelt down beside Giana, making sure she held on to the cup. Alfie and Jerome had let go of me and instead were now holding Rufus back from charging forward and killing us.

He took out a knife. A knife that was covered in my sister's blood. Fighting his way away from Alfie and Jerome, he ran forward and grabbed Giana, holding her up with the blade pressed to her neck.

Everything froze.

"Give me the Cup of Ankh," he sneered, pressing the knife into her throat, "or she dies."

I heard Nina's screams from outside. Tori rushed in, stating that Nina had fallen to her knees in the snow, hands clutching her neck. She froze in her tracks as soon as she saw Gigi.

Then Ankh Cup slipped from her hand just as Nina came stumbling and crawling into the room, followed by Patricia and Amber. Rufus dropped Giana to the floor, and Fabian, Tori and I rushed over to her to see if she was still breathing.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nina snatch the Cup before that creep could get his hands on it. She got up and ran over to us, placing it in Giana's hand and still holding on tight. It looked as if she had formed an idea.

"I think I figured it out," she said urgently. "We have to-"

Before she could finish, Rufus was shouting in agony, clutching his chest. The Cup started glowing a brilliant gold, and he disintegrated into dust right before our eyes.

I didn't even try to register what had just happened, because Amber was shouting to someone on her cell phone. After hanging up, she turned to us.

"There's an ambulance on the way," she said. "She'll get help. Everything's gonna be okay."

That was the best thing I've heard come out of someone's mouth since I set foot in England.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, at around four in the morning British time, we were all crowded into a section of a hospital waiting room, most of us avoiding eye contact. Fabian and I shot awkward glances at each other from across the room. If he <em>was<em> dating Gigi, I was going to wait for him to mention something. I hated it when people make assumptions and I wasn't about to become a hypocrite.

Victor, their scary, old caretaker, then came strolling into the room. He pointed at me.

"Your parents have been notified," he started off.

I groaned and rested my head in my hands.

Ignoring me, he continued, "…and they are coming here on the next flight."

I groaned again, not looking up. I was going to be in huge trouble for going awol and leaving the country. But, then again, they'd do it too if they were in this situation.

Tori tapped me on the shoulder as soon as Victor left to go talk to one of the doctors. "We're screwed," she said.

"No kidding," I replied. "I'll probably be grounded for the rest of the semester. No more soccer."

"But we saved your sister."

"I know, and that's why I don't care. I'd rather have Giana alive and well than be given enough time to play all the soccer I want. It's just… I still can't wrap my head around it. You know what I mean, Tor?"

She nodded. "Totally. It's weird - I mean, yesterday we were just sitting in classes back home, and now we're in England. The past twenty-four hours have been nothing but an endless cycle of insanity, and as soon as I get home, my parents are gonna ground me and probably send me off to a boarding school in Italy to learn respect for our elders or something."

"They won't send you off. If anything, they'll send you to Anubis."

"But if I went to Italy, it would mean better luck for my Italian."

I shrugged. "Gigi and I could speak Italian to you all the time instead of English, if you'd prefer. I'm surprised your parents don't practice it with you. It's-"

"It's a part of our culture, blah blah blah." She waved it off. "I know, but with Gigi gone and everything, I've lost interest in learning the language - no matter how hard my parents push me and refuse to speak English half the time. I mean, she's my best friend. It's hard having her here on the other side of the ocean."

"I know how you feel."

"Oh, and Nico? You should go talk to Fabian. He and Giana… well…"

"What?"

"Just go talk to him."

Bewildered, I got up and walked over to where Fabian was sitting, a vacant expression occupying his face. Plopping down in the chair next to him, I waited a moment before speaking.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Worried," he answered quietly, his voice breaking. After clearing his throat, he continued. "I'm guessing you're the same. Worried about your sister and all."

"Yeah," I replied, nodding slightly.

He hesitated, fidgeting a bit. "I love her," he said.

"Sorry?" I didn't really know what else to say.

He took a deep breath. "Nico, I love your sister. She and I are in a relationship, but before she ran off and was captured by Rufus, we got into an argument about her safety and vision, and it just didn't end well. So, I guess I feel guilty more than anything."

"Look," I started off, "I know what you were trying to do, trust me. I was like that a lot when we were younger. But now she's sixteen, and you are too. She knows what she can and can't do, and she'll keep herself safe if its for a reasonable cause. I know she can be stupid and stubborn sometimes, and that all of this was a result of that, but you shouldn't feel guilty.

"The reason why our parents sent her here is because they felt she could manage perfectly well on her own with the amount of vision she had. I mean, sure - we were all kind of apprehensive about sending her off, but she's smart and uses common sense… most of the time. The point is, Fabian, you can't really baby her like that. I know. I've tried."

* * *

><p><span>Fabian's POV:<span>

Once Nico had finished his speech, I took a few moments to absorb everything. Out of all of us, he's the only one who's known Giana throughout her entire life - well, except for Tori.

"You're right," I said at last.

"I… huh?" He looked as if he had heard wrong.

"You're right," I repeated. "I shouldn't have been so thick-headed. I should have realized sooner that she's capable of making her own decisions. She knows what she can and can't do and see."

"Exactly." He nodded.

I hesitated. "Nico? Do… do you know what, exactly, that she can and can't see?"

"You're better off asking her that. I know her vision and its strengths and weaknesses for the most part, as do our family and friends back home, but it's not my place to be explaining it. Plus, she puts it into better terms than I could ever hope to define it in."

"I understand."

Just then, a nurse came over to us with a clipboard.

"Which of you are… Nicolo and Fabian?" she asked, looking up from whatever she was reading.

Nico and I stood up. "Us," we said in unison.

"How's my sister?" he asked.

"She'll be fine," the nurse answered. "Though, she did lose a lot of blood. There will be scarring on her arm and slightly on her neck, but everything will be alright. Actually, she wants to see you two."

"She's awake?" I asked. The nurse nodded. "You go first," I said, turning to Nico. "She's your sister."

He smiled. "Thanks, Fabian. I'll come get you when I'm done."

I watched him follow the nurse, disappearing through the maze of hallways.

Nina and Tori came over to me just then.

"You alright?" Nina asked.

"Yeah," I answered. "I'm fine. Giana's fine. Everything's going to be okay."

"You're right," Tori said. "The only thing we have to worry about now is how much trouble we're going to get into by our parents."

"That's the least of our worries, Tori," I replied, smiling.


	13. House of Sight

**So how was everyone's Thanksgiving? Well, for those who celebrate it? Mine was good. My family's Italian so we had SO MUCH FOOD! It was awesome, and I was so glad I got to see my cousins again. Living at school really makes me miss them a lot more.**

**I also saw Marianas Trench, The Cab, Forever The Sickest Kids, and Simple Plan in concert, so that's a plus. :D**

**Anyway, on with the chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I own nothing but my OCs and this plot line.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Thirteen: House of Sight<strong>

Nicolo's POV:

A nurse led me to where Gigi's room was. After thanking her, I stood there for a moment, just thinking.

_God,_ I thought, _please __let __her __be __okay. __I __don__'__t __care __if __I __can__'__t __play __soccer __for __the __rest __of __my _life. _I__'__d __give __anything __for __my __sister __to __be __alive __and __well. __Amen._

After my little prayer, I decided to open the door.

Once I got over the initial sight of bandages on her arm and one on her neck, as well as the IV giving her blood, I was finally able to confidently face my sister. She seemed to be remotely awake and aware of her surroundings.

"Nico?" she asked quietly.

"Giana," I started off, relaxing a bit. "Gentile Signore, _what_ were you _thinking?_"

"It's not my fault!" she protested. "And don't say Dear Lord to me in Italian! I had gotten into an argument with Fabian and stormed off, intending to go to the clearing in the woods to think properly, or just head back to Anubis. But then that creep found and kidnapped me! Do you think I _wanted_ to have to deal with all this?"

I sighed, taking a seat in the chair next to her. "No, you're right. But still - you shouldn't have left the school grounds alone like that! Someone should have been with you, or you could have _at __least_ told Nina or Amber where you were going-"

"I was still _on_ school grounds!"

"But you were _kidnapped!_"

"But it wasn't my _fault!_"

I shook my head and dismissed the topic. "I don't want to argue with you. Better yet, I want to talk to you about everything that's happened… also, there's something that needs to be said."

"Oh, God."

"It's nothing bad," I started. I paused. "Uhm… Fabian."

"What about him?"

"You need to talk to him."

"I know."

"Do you know what you need to talk _about?_"

She sighed. "What I can and can't see," she answered monotonously.

I nodded. "And…"

"And that he was right and I was wrong?"

"In a way, yes. Now. Other than that and everything bad that's happened in the past day and a half, how's school?"

"You mean other than Patricia hazing me for the first few days after my arrival? Or the fact that I had an awkward conversation with Nina about whether or not she was okay with me dating Fabian? Well, if you ignore all that, it's been pretty great!"

"Are you being sarcastic, or…"

"Not at all."

"Alright. Oh, and also, Mom and Dad are kind of on the next flight here."

_"__WHAT?__"_ She jolted up in bed.

"Cue freak-out," I muttered. "And I think I'll be grounded forever once they set foot in England. Tori's freaking out too, but it's nothing different compared to the usual."

"But you guys saved me."

"And that's why we don't care how much we get punished! Your life is more important to me than whether or not I get to play soccer for the rest of the semester, or whether or not Tori can do whatever it is she does."

"You know, Mom and Dad might just ship you off to Anubis."

"I know. That's what I'm worried about."

"It's not so bad… once you get past all the mysteries and creepy teachers."

I waved it off. "Is Fabian being good to you?"

"Gee, I dunno," she started sarcastically. "I mean, the first day was fine, but then the argument… and then I was kidnapped. All in all, I think he's a good person. I don't think he'd make me do anything I didn't want to."

"Good." I paused. "I guess… you can see him now."

"You already had a conversation with him, didn't you?" she prodded.

"Yeah," I answered. "But, I haven't threatened him. Yet."

She rolled her eyes. "Nico…"

"Just relax."

"Whatever." She brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Send him in."

"Feel better, sorella." I paused as I stood up. "Oh, that reminds me! We need to help Tori with her Italian so her parents don't send her away to Italy for ditching partway through the semester."

"Noted. Ciao."

* * *

><p><span>Fabian's POV:<span>

"Okay," Nico started. He'd come back to the waiting room after about half an hour. "You can go talk to her."

"How is she?" I asked, standing up. Everyone else had pretty much fallen asleep.

"Other than the bandages and constant air of exhaustion, she's doing great."

"Is she… is she still upset with me?"

"Nope. Go ahead and talk to her. She's looking forward to hearing your voice. Go down the hall and turn left. It's the fourth door on your right."

Nodding, I obeyed, saying a quick thank-you as I took off to Giana's room.

* * *

><p>I stopped outside her door for a moment to take a breath and gain some sort of composure, which I was confident in losing as soon as I saw her.<p>

I didn't exactly know what I was expecting, but I opened the door to find her lying in a hospital bed, bandages visible on her arm and neck, and I spotted the IV stuck in her opposite wrist, giving her blood and whatnot. Quietly closing the door, I approached her.

"This is probably the worst thing for me to ask at a time like this," I started, "but, are you alright?"

I saw a small smile flicker across her face before returning to her former neutral expression. She then said, "I've been better."

"I gathered."

There was an awkward silence. Then we both started talking.

"Look, Giana-"

"Fabian, I-"

"You go first," I told her.

"Let me explain my vision to you," she said. After pausing a moment, she continued. "Alright, so… First off, do you know _why_ I have a vision impairment?"

I thought about it. "No," I answered honestly, sitting down in the chair next to her. "I never asked."

"Well, I was born early. The retinas in my eyes weren't fully developed - actually, the right one is detached. I have no vision whatsoever in my right eye, and limited vision in my left." She paused again.

_Interesting,_ I thought.

"You think I'm a freak now, don't you?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No, Giana. Of course not. Please, continue."

"Thanks." She smiled slightly. "With my eye disorder - Retnopathy of Prematurity - they say I'll end up keeping the same amount of vision for a while. When I'm older, I might lose some of it or things will become blurrier than they are. I've tried glasses before, and that didn't help at all. Now I just use what little sight I have to the best of its ability."

I hesitated, trying to word my next question correctly. "So… what, exactly, can you see out of your left eye?"

"Mainly everything - colors, light, shadows, all that. But I can't see little details too well. Like, I can kind of see you, and that you're wearing a grey plaid shirt over a navy blue T-shirt and all that, but I have no idea what you eye color is, whether or not you wear glasses, or what your facial expression is half the time. I mainly rely on tone of voice… and that's why I can't really tell sometimes when people are joking or not. It's really annoying."

"I understand," I told her. "But you do _so_ well! I didn't even know you had trouble seeing until I saw the braille books and your cane and whatnot."

"That's what mainly everyone else says," she replied, chuckling slightly. "But my depth perception's nonexistent. I can't tell how far away or close I am to something, and needless to say I'm scared to death of heights."

I smiled a bit. "Completely understandable. And I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, what with you explaining all this to me. I was a bit hesitant about asking… but your brother pretty much yelled at me to. I guess I just didn't know how to go about it."

"I understand," she said. "It's just that, I'm used to people treating me like I can't do anything on my own. That's why I flipped out at you when you were telling me that I couldn't do whatever-it-was, just because I had a problem seeing. I thought that since I was finally _here,_ finally away from the people at home who only looked at me to find my flaws, that I wouldn't be judged or lectured by anyone other than Victor or Trudy. That I'd finally found friends who accepted me for _me,_ as a _person,_ not just because they felt bad for me. That I'd be treated like everyone else, and fit in perfectly with all of you. That I finally had more than just one friend. Someone who I could tell anything and everything to."

I didn't know what to say. Part of me felt like crying and holding her close to me, telling her everything would be alright from here-on-out. It sounded like she had a tough life before coming here, and it didn't do much help when I tried to control what she did, and it _definitely_ didn't do any help when Patricia was hazing her those first few days.

I took her hand gently, rubbing the back of it with my thumb, all-the-while being careful not to move her arm too much as the IV was still in her wrist. "I'm here for you when you need me," I told her. "You know that, right?"

"I know," she answered, nodding the slightest bit. "You, Tori and Nico seem to be the only ones who understand me."

"I'm sure that's not true," I countered. "What about your parents? Or even Nina and Amber?"

She scoffed. "My parents. They _think_ they know what's best for me, and they may be right more than half the time, but they don't _know_ me. I mean, well, they do, but… it's complicated. Don't get me wrong - I love them, obviously, but it's like anyone else: No one knows what it's like to be me."

"I'm sorry. I really am."

"Don't be. You didn't do anything."

"Do you have any friends who also have low vision?" I asked.

"Yeah." Her voice sounded a bit more cheerful. "It's easier to talk to them about things like this, because they understand a bit better, you know? Not that you're incompetent of trying to decipher any of this."

"No, I completely understand. I guess that's partially why Nina was so thrilled about having another American here - she had someone to talk to about things back home, even though you both grew up in different parts of the country. She had someone to talk to about things back in America versus things here in England."

"It's basically the same thing," she confirmed. "But I'm still sorry for flipping out on you when you were only concerned for my safety. It wasn't right of me."

"Think nothing of it. You were just sticking up for yourself. I completely understand."

"Are you sure?" She paused. "You're not mad?"

Shaking my head slightly, I leaned in, brushed her fringe out of her eyes, and kissed her softly on the lips.

Once we broke apart, her face broke out into a grin.

"I'll take that as a no," she whispered.

"I could never be mad at you," I whispered back.


	14. House of Return

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I own nothing but my OCs and this plot line.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Fourteen: House of Return<strong>

Nicolo's POV:

After a while of talking to Tori and trying to convince her to stop freaking out, I noticed Fabian come back into the waiting room.

"So how'd it go?" I asked him. "I'm guessing you two are cool now, judging by the stupid grin on your face."

He sat down on the other side of me, blushing furiously. "You're hilarious," he started dryly. "And yeah, we're fine. We figured everything out."

"That's good!" Tori piped up. "Now you two can live happily ever after."

"There's just one thing: Life isn't a fairytale, Tor," I muttered.

"And the king and queen come marching your way," she said grimly.

"Huh?" I looked up in alarm. Sure enough, my parents came running over to us, expressions cross and somewhat frightening.

"Nicolo Ermete De Luca!" my mother shouted. I groaned and slid down in my chair, hiding my face in my hands. "You are in _so_ much trouble! Where is Giana?"

"Uh, hi Mr. and Mrs. De Luca," Tori said sheepishly, waving and smiling nervously. "H-how was the flight?"

"Victoria!" My father took over. "Your parents are worried _sick_ about you! They are considering sending you away to school to keep you out of trouble!"

Tori's expression turned to utter fear and shame. I spoke next.

"Mom, Dad," I started nervously, "Giana's down the hall. Take a left and she's the fourth door on your right."

They looked a bit relieved. "We'll deal with you later," Dad said. Then they left.

"Your parents seem nice," Patricia muttered, stretching and sitting up.

"They are… when they're not mad," I answered.

Then Tori's phone rang. She looked at the Caller ID and got a panicked expression on her face. "My parents," she mouthed.

"Answer it!"

"No!"

Reluctantly, and after giving her my signature glare, she pressed the answer button on her iPhone.

"VICTORIA ANNALISA ESPOSITO!" her mother shouted. She was so loud, she woke everyone else. I cringed.

Tori chuckled nervously and twirled a lock of hair around her thumb. "Uh, ciao, Mamma, I-"

"YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE, YOUR FATHER AND I ARE CONSIDERING SENDING YOU AWAY TO A COLEGIO IN ITALIA!"

_Boarding __school __in __Italy?_ I thought. _Uh-oh._

Her jaw dropped, eyes widening. I assumed she was silently screaming, as no sound came out. Her mother just kept shouting about how much she'd be punished once we returned to America - something neither of us were looking forward to.

Eventually, after she ended the call, Tori came out of her shell-shocked state, only muttering to herself incoherently in rapid Italian. I tried to reason with her, as did Amber and Fabian, but there was no such luck.

And then my parents came back.

* * *

><p>"This has just <em>not<em> been a good day," I groaned as I flopped face-down on a sleeping bag and pillow on the floor in Fabian and Mick's room.

"And it's only seven in the morning," Patricia commented, dripping with sarcasm. "I'm going up to bed. Good night and good luck."

Mara, Amber, Nina and Tori followed her, all saying their goodnights and goodbyes.

"So, what now?" Jerome asked.

I lifted my head. "Now," I started off, "I sleep. I've gone way too long without getting a decent amount sleep."

"We'll leave you be," Alfie said. "Night, Nico."

"Night, Alfie. Night guys."

"G'night," they said as Alfie and Jerome left.

And then I blacked out.

* * *

><p><span>Giana's POV:<span>

A few days had passed and the people from the hospital _finally_ let me go back to school.

"Are you feeling any better?" Nico asked. He, our parents, Tori and I were in the process of going back to Anubis. It was getting later and darker outside. "You've been kind of quiet."

"I mean I was only held hostage and tortured for information I didn't know for over twelve hours," I muttered. "I'm fine. Just tired I guess."

"I'm not buying it," Tori chimed in. "You're _never_ this quiet. What's bugging you, G?"

I shrugged. "Do you think Mom and Dad will still let me attend school here?"

"Of course we will, bella," Mom answered. "You seemed to be enjoying yourself so much there, and your housemates were so nice and welcoming… I especially like that one brunette boy - Fabio?"

"Fabian," I corrected her, blushing furiously.

"Is he good to you, mia figlia?" Dad asked. "He's a good boy?"

"Yes," I answered, averting my gaze to the window. "He's very nice. Respectful. All that."

Once we'd reached my boarding house, I happily jumped out of the car and ran up the three short steps, only partially aware of where I was going.

As soon as I opened the door, I was assaulted with hugs from _everyone._ And when I say everyone, I _mean_ everyone. Even Patricia and Jerome.

"I've missed you guys!" I exclaimed. "I've missed being here… hopefully things will return to normal, yeah?"

"I hope so," Nina chuckled. "I can't handle too much insanity in one week."

"What exactly _happened,_ though?" Mara asked.

And the room became quiet.

"Er…" Nico started, trailing off and whistling annoyingly.

The silence was so awkward, I just decided to speak up and tell the truth - well, kind of. I had plans to stretch some lies.

"I was kidnapped," I started off shakily, memories flooding back of the horror I endured. "There was a lot of weird stuff… I can't exactly remember what happened." That was a lie. "But now I'm safe and sound, and everyone can get back to their lives. Right?"

And then I noticed one thing: Fabian wasn't there.

When I asked where he was, Amber said that he was in his room. Shrugging and rolling my eyes, I shed my coat, scarf, boots and hat, making my way to through the house and knocking lightly on his door.

"Come in," he said quietly.

I opened the door and walked in, closing it behind me.

"Giana!" he exclaimed.

The next thing I knew, I was falling backwards to the floor. He had run at me when I was partially off-balance, hugged me, and we'd fallen together.

I started laughing.

"Oh my God, are you alright?" he asked. "I'm so sorry!"

"I'm fine!" I exclaimed, still trying to suppress my giggles. "It's alright!"

It took a few minutes for our laughter to die down, and after holding his gaze for a moment, I felt myself blushing uncontrollably - he still had me pinned to the floor.

He awkwardly cleared his throat. "Erm… Need a hand?"

I smiled as he helped me up. Then we hugged again.

"I'm so glad you're back," he whispered, running a hand through my hair.

"I am too," I agreed. "You have no idea what it was like."

* * *

><p>We ended up sitting across from each other on his bed, cross-legged, as I relayed everything Rufus had put me through.<p>

"And then, I was in this limbo-like state," I concluded. "I thought I was going to die… but then something happened and I heard you guys shouting my name, someone yelling for an ambulance… And then I blacked out and woke up in the hospital."

"So…" he trailed off. "The entire time you were there, he kept asking you where the Cup was, and if you said you had no idea, he'd think you were lying and stab you in the arm?"

I nodded.

"I'm glad he's dead."

I shuddered. "I am too - you have no idea."

He took my hands in his. "You know what, though? You were strong throughout it all. I admire you for that."

_Strong? __Me? __Nah__…_ I thought.

"Yes, you were."

_Oops. __Apparently __I __said __that __out __loud. _"Thanks, Fabian, but I think you're delusional."

"I am not." He leaned in and kissed me. "At least you're alright. I don't know what I'd do if anything more serious had happened to you."

"I still have that word etched into my arm," I said quietly, pulling up the sleeve of my cream-colored cardigan. "They said the scars will probably be there forever."

He lightly traced the pink scars on my forearm, immediately stopping as soon as he saw me wince.

"I'm okay," I reassured him. "Really." I fixed my sleeve.

He shook his head. "I'm not even going to try to believe you."

I leaned back against his headboard, a smile playfully crossing my face. "Whatever you say, genius."

And then we heard Victor do his stupid pin-drop speech. Mick had just made it into the room.

"Hey mate, what-" he stopped once he saw me.

"Crap," I muttered. "Uh, okay. If I go upstairs, Victor will kill me. If I stay down here, Nico will kill me. I am so screwed."

"I'll tell your brother to stay in Alfie and Jerome's room," Mick offered, turning on his heel and walking out before anyone could protest.

Fabian and I exchanged awkward glances. "I guess you're spending the night here," he said.

I bit my lower lip.

"Don't worry." He smiled. "You can trust me."

_Hmm__… __what __could __go __wrong?_ I shrugged.

Mick came back. "He's skeptical, but he'll be staying with Alfie and Slime-ball."

"Why do you and Jerome call each other derogatory names like that?" I questioned.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he calls you Meathead."

"Does he? That little-"

"Mick, now isn't the time for this," Fabian cut in. "Save it for morning, alright?"

With a huff and a sigh, Mick shut the light and went to bed, muttering something about killing Jerome. I decided to pay little to no attention.

The last thing I remember is falling asleep with Fabian's arms wrapped around me, dreaming peacefully.

Everything seemed perfect.

So far.


	15. House of Assumptions

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I own nothing but my OCs and this plot line.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Fifteen: House of Assumptions<strong>

Giana's POV:

One minute, I was sleeping peacefully. The next minute, I heard some idiot shouting my name.

It took me a few moments to realize that the idiot was my brother.

"GIANA ROSABELLA-"

I let out a small yelp of shock as I literally rolled out of bed and landed on the floor.

"Ouch!" I exclaimed. I lifted my left arm, which still kind of hurt, and pointed in the general direction of the door. "Nico! Out! _Now!_"

"Not until you explain to me-"

_"__NICO.__"_

_"__GIA.__"_

Then I saw a pillow soar through the air and hit him in the face. Mick had thrown it, having been woken up. He didn't seem pleased.

"What are you doing?" Fabian asked, getting up. "It's eight in the morning on a Saturday! Is there a rational reason as to why you've decided to come barging in here, yelling at your sister?"

"Are you two _sleeping_ together?" Nico assumed, cutting right to the point.

"Oh my _God!_" I exclaimed, getting up and straightening out the wrinkles in my cardigan. I hadn't changed out of my clothes from yesterday. "_Yes,_ we were _asleep. __No,_ we weren't… How could you even _assume__… __NICO!_" And then I was practically lost for words.

"Victor gave his pin-drop speech and she figured that if he saw her wandering around after curfew, she'd be in huge trouble," Fabian explained. "Then she thought if you saw her staying here, you'd kill her."

"_That__'__s_ why I stayed with Alfie and Jerome last night?" my brother wondered aloud. Fabian, Mick and I nodded. "Okay, but you _slept_ last night, right? Like, _legit_ sleeping?"

"Yes!" I answered. "That's what I've been trying to _tell_ you! I wouldn't lie to you!"

"Alright… I guess I believe you."

"Nico, I swear, if you mention _anything_ to Mom and Dad-"

"Don't worry, sorella, I won't! I'd never do anything like that. Now," he turned to Fabian. "You."

"I thought you already _gave_ the big brother speech!" I protested.

He ignored me. "Fabian, I swear, if you hurt Giana in any way, or pressure her into doing anything she doesn't want to do, you _will_ regret it."

"I completely understand," Fabian answered. "I would never do anything like that. You have my word."

"Good."

"Now that everything's settled," I cut in, "I'm gonna go upstairs and change. Bye."

* * *

><p>Breakfast was awkward. I had a feeling Fabian and Nico were purposely avoiding talking to each other, Mick ate his weight in food as usual, and everyone else was normal.<p>

Then Tori and Amber literally dragged me upstairs to our room, shutting and locking the door behind us.

"Tell. Me. _Everything,_" Tori started off. "And don't leave out _any_ details."

"Huh?" I asked, puzzled. "Tori, what are you talking about?"

"Last night, you didn't come back after lights-out," Amber explained. "Alfie told us Nico stayed in his and Jerome's room while you were with Fabian and Mick. So… what happened?"

"Nothing happened!" I exclaimed. "We just slept! I didn't want Victor seeing me wander around after the pin-drop speech, so I stayed there."

"You didn't… you know…" Tori implied.

"You didn't _do __it_ with him, did you?" Amber asked.

If my face wasn't already red as a tomato, it sure as hell was now.

"No!" I sputtered. "No - we just _slept!_ Why doesn't anyone believe us?"

"Because you're a teenager and people make assumptions about these things," Tori answered.

"Kinda like what you're doing right now?"

"Exactly."

I shook my head. "At any rate, Nico pretty much threatened the Mafia after him if he hurt or pressured me."

"Oh, Nico…"

"Are we done now? Or are you two gonna keep interrogating me until I'm forty?"

"Is he a good kisser?" Amber prodded. I sighed.

"Of course he is." I crossed my arms. "Why wouldn't he be?"

"Ah, so is _that_ why you have a huge grin on your face?"

"Why are you two judging me so much this morning?"

"Because we love you!" they answered in unison.

"Okay, bye!" I opened the door and made a dash for the stairs before they could protest.

* * *

><p><span>Fabian's POV:<span>

"So, how'd it go with Giana last night?" Jerome asked for what seemed like the hundredth time. We were sitting in the common room.

"It was fine," I answered. "We just slept."

He cocked his head to the side. "Oh, really?"

"_Only_ slept," I assured.

"He's telling the truth," Mick chimed in. "I was there."

"Well Nico kept asking us why he had to stay in our room last night. Did you ever get that resolved?" Alfie prodded.

"Mhm," I answered. "He barged into our room this morning and we talked it over. I thought he was going to kill me, though."

"I'm not _that_ horrible, am I?" Suddenly, Nico appeared in the doorway. "Oh, and hi."

"Nico, listen-"

"I trust you, Fabian. I know you wouldn't take advantage of my sister," he sat down in an armchair. "I'm just really overprotective of her is all, you know? I'm her brother."

"I understand."

Just then, Giana came downstairs.

"Is there a place I can just go and hide forever?" she asked, flopping down next to me on the sofa.

"An Amber interrogation?" I assumed. She nodded. "What happened this time?"

"Nothing," she mumbled. "And it was Amber _and_ Tori."

"How'd you get out of there?"

"I made a run for the stairs before anyone could stop me." She beamed. "Now, what're the plans for today? There are no classes, after all."

"Why don't we all head into town?" Nina suggested, joining us with Mara and Patricia. Amber and Tori followed. "It's not too cold out - we can get some food and go shopping for a bit before it snows later."

"Oh, I _love_ shopping!" Amber exclaimed. "I've already made a list of things I need to get. Tori, Giana, you'll _love_ the shops in town! They're _amazing!_"

The two girls smiled at the blonde.

"Sure, Amber," Tori said. "I'm always up for a shopping trip."

"Me too," Gigi agreed.

"You two? Shopping with Amber?" Jerome asked. "You won't be able to last! She'll drag you to every little store she can find and use you as her personal little Barbie dolls."

"All the more reason to go!" the girls exclaimed in unison.

They had no idea what they were getting themselves into.


	16. House of Planning

**I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I own nothing but my OCs and this plot line.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Sixteen: House of Planning<strong>

Giana's POV:

The town near the school was so nice. A lot of things were covered in snow, so I had ditched my cane back at the house and just walked with everyone, holding hands with Fabian. He'd tell me if there was a step or something in the way when needed.

"A few lazy people still have their Christmas decorations up," Nico noted. "It's almost February!"

I shrugged. "DIfferent people do different things."

Amber squealed. "Ooh! Let's go to that little boutique!"

She grabbed my other hand and snatched me away from Fabian, half-running towards a little hole-in-the-wall boutique with Tori and Nina at our heels. It took me a moment to catch my breath once we entered the store.

Most of the things there, I noticed, were winter clothes. _Makes __sense,_ I thought. Browsing the racks of cable-knit sweaters and cardigans, both plain and patterned, Amber started squealing again.

"Giana, this would fit you _perfectly!_" She handed me a knit, dusty-blue colored cardigan with a frilly white top to wear under it, ushering me towards a fitting room.

"She really _is_ going to treat you as her own personal Barbie doll!" Nina called after me.

"I think I figured it out!" I shouted back, changing into the new clothes. Then I looked in the mirror.

"Come out and let us see!" Tori exclaimed.

Reluctantly, I opened the door. I _hated_ modeling clothes for people, just for no reason whatsoever. I always felt I'd be criticized.

"You look great!" Nina said.

"Sweater's not too long, top looks as if it fits just fine… A-plus," Tori added.

"Oh, Giana, of _course_ you look wonderful!" Amber squealed. "Never underestimate the power of my fashion sense."

"I like it," I agreed, surveying myself in another mirror and turning around to try and get a look at the back. "It fits well, it's comfortable, and I love the color. Definitely buying them."

"Awesome!" Tori exclaimed. "Hey, why don't we also help you find a dress for Nico's party?"

"What party?" Nina questioned.

"My brother's turning eighteen in a few weeks and my parents are planning this huge party for him - it's a surprise, by the way. You guys and the rest of Anubis are invited too, as I'm pretty sure we're having it here in England anyway."

"I _love_ parties!" Amber exclaimed. "Why don't you change back into your regular top, pay for those, and we'll journey to the dress shop down the street?"

We did just that.

* * *

><p>"So. Many. Dresses!" I said in exasperation.<p>

Amber had combed through literally everything in the store and handed me a stack of about eight dresses, instructing me to go to the fitting room and try them all on while she continued browsing for both me and herself.

It was a fiasco just to _get_ to the fitting room.

Amber was having a field day. Clearly.

"Here!"

She hung a dark emerald, one-shoulder dress over the door for me to grab. The ninth option.

"Come out and model for us!" she pleaded. I sighed, pushing the door open.

I was wearing a strapless lavender gown that touched the floor. "I'll need heels," I pointed out.

"You always were short," Tori teased, prancing around in a shorter, cream-colored dress that had a ruffle going along its one shoulder and across her chest.

"You look cute, though," Nina added. "But I liked that one burgundy dress better. It had one shoulder, and it was kind of gathered and tied around the waist, remember?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I liked that one too."

"Or the flowy, dusty pink one with the lace over it," Amber chimed in, coming back over with a pair of silver heels. "Try these."

Slipping the strappy shoes on, feeling surprised that they were small enough to fit properly, I started walking around a little, biting my lower lip.

"I don't like it," I said. "The gown, I mean. The shoes are cute. I'll consider these."

Amber pouted. "Alright. You know what you like better than any of us, anyway."

"I'll go back to the one-shoulder burgundy dress," I told them as I closed the fitting door for what seemed like the thousandth time.

* * *

><p>Two hours later, I had my burgundy dress, the pair of easy-to-walk-in strappy silver heels, a matching handbag, and jewelry for the party. Amber, Nina and Tori all had their choice outfits, as did Mara and Patricia, who'd joined us before we left the shop.<p>

"The boys went to a bakery nearby," Patricia informed us. "They want us to meet them there when we're done. It's not too far away."

"And Nico's probably eating every cannoli in sight," I muttered. "Let's go!"

* * *

><p><span>Nicolo's POV:<span>

"I love cannoli!" I told the guys as I happily inhaled a freshly-made cannoli with pizzelle shell. "These are almost like the ones my Nonna makes - except hers are better."

We were at some little Italian, family-owned bakery in the middle of town while the girls did their shopping.

"There they are," Alfie pointed out, talking with his mouth full of biscotti.

Sure enough, the girls wandered in laden down with shopping bags.

"Giuseppe!" I called over the worker. He was around our age.

"Sì!" he responded.

"Potete per favore fare mia sorella un cappuccino?"

"Sì!" he smiled. "I shall make you sister the _best_ cappuccino!"

"Grazie," Giana and I said in unison. They sat down with us after pushing another table together.

"What'd you buy?" I asked.

"Stuff," she answered, averting my gaze. "I got a nice cardigan and top."

"But you have, like, five bags."

"Exactly."

I stared at her, dumbfounded. "I will never understand girls and their shopping addiction."

"Anyway," Tori changed the subject. "Ooh, food!" She'd spotted the huge plate in the middle of the table that was filled with pastry, reaching out and grabbing a cannoli. "Cannoli?" she asked, handing it to my sister.

"Mmm, they're almost as good as Nonna's!" Gigi exclaimed.

"That's what I said!" I agreed.

Just then, Giuseppe came over with a very large teacup, similar to the one I had, that was filled to the brim with steaming cappuccino.

"Grazie," she told him.

"Prego, bella," he answered, flashing a smile at her. I saw Fabian stiffen. Giuseppe returned to work.

She took a sip of her drink, smiling instantly after. "Why is this place so amazing, and more importantly, why didn't I know it existed until _now?_"

"I don't know," Fabian answered, chuckling and taking a sip of his expresso. He reached over and took her hand. "But it _is_ quite nice, I'll give it that."

* * *

><p><span>Fabian's POV:<span>

We spent the rest of the day poking around town until it started snowing. Once we got back to school, I decided to sit in the common room and try to finish Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. That is, until I was pleasantly interrupted.

"Fabian!" Giana exclaimed, coming into the room with a bag in her hand. She placed it on the coffee table and kissed my cheek. "_You__'__re_ a guy!"

I chuckled a bit, smiling. "Yes," I answered, closing my book. "I'm glad you realized this."

"No, no, no." She started laughing. "I need your opinion on something. Nico's birthday's coming up soon, and I wanted to hear from a guy's point of view on whether or not the gift I got him today is a good one."

I nodded. "Alright."

She produced a very nice pair of navy blue-and-silver SkullCandy headphones, gesturing to them in a grandiose way.

"Well?" she asked.

"I think they're awesome!" I exclaimed. "Limited Edition, yeah? Where'd you get them?"

"A store in town," she answered. "I can't remember which one, seeing as we went to a few to try and find them, but Tori might know."

"Huh, alright. So, why the color?"

"He has this delusional theory that he'd be in Ravenclaw if he ever went to Hogwarts, and since there weren't any blue-and-bronze headphones, I settled for movie colors."

"Makes sense. I mean, these _are_ a good brand, after all."

"I know, and he loves them." She put them back in the bag. "He's always wanted that color scheme, plus, he lost his previous pair - er, well, Tori took them."

"I did not!" Tori protested as she entered the room. "You have no proof."

"Red. SkullCandy headphones. In. Your. Bag," Gigi told her, smiling innocently. "I won't say anything, though. I haven't _yet,_ anyway."

"Told who what?" Nina had decided to join us. "What happened?"

"Tori stole Nico's red SkullCandy headphones back over Thanksgiving," she elaborated. "Don't say anything."

"Promise."

"I _didn't_ steal them!" Tori protested yet again. "I just… borrowed them. Without asking."

"Anyway," Gigi continued, "I also got him a CD. He loves Marianas Trench, so…"

She reached into the bag and pulled out a never-before-open, signed copy of a CD with the name of Ever After.

Tori went insane.

"YOU HAVE JOSH RAMSAY'S SIGNATURE. AND MIKE AYLEY'S. AND MATT WEBB'S. AND IAN CASSELMAN'S. GIANA ROSABELLA DE LUCA. HOW IN THE _WORLD_DID YOU-"

Giana slapped her hand over her best friend's mouth. "Tori, _shut __up!_ Remember how we all went to their concert a while back and how they were selling the new copies of Ever After, but Nico didn't have enough money for the CD, just the T-shirt and poster?"

Tori nodded.

"Well, remember how we met them and had pictures and stuff after their set?"

Again, Tori nodded. She removed her hand and let her talk again.

"Okay, but I still don't understand-" she started off.

"I asked them to sign it at the merchandise table after the concert."

"But _when?_ Nico and I were with you the _entire __time!_"

"Nico went to go get his car and you were fangirling too hard." She took a breath while Tori looked mortified. "Now. Does _that_ answer your question?"

"Yes."

"So," I started, "who, exactly, _are_ Marianas Trench?"

"Four beautiful human beings that make up the best Canadian band of their own genre," Tori replied, a dreamy look overtaking her face. "Josh Ramsay, the lead vocalist. His hair has the most amazing blue highlights in it. Then there's Mike, who plays base and backing vocals. Ian's the drummer and also does backing vocals, and Matt's the lead guitar, pianist, and backing vocals."

"So, they all sing," I said.

"Yeah."

"Fabian, they're _so __good!_" Nina exclaimed. "How do you not know about them?"

"I guess they're just not that big over here in Britain," I replied. "I should listen to them, though - they sound cool."

"You really have no idea," Giana told me, putting the CD back in the bag with the headphones. "Give me a second - I'm gonna get my iPhone."

And then I was introduced to that amazing music from Canada.


	17. Houe of Changes

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I own nothing but my OCs and this plot line.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seve<strong>**nteen: House of Changes**

Giana's POV:

The next day, Tori's parents called.

"Guess what?" she asked excitedly, appearing in the doorway to the living room.

"What?" I replied. I was sitting in an armchair, trying to catch up on rereading Harry Potter.

"It's more important than your book!" she told me. Frustrated, she walked over and put a bookmark in, closing the volume and putting it on the coffee table.

I shook my head. "Okay," I started, standing up, "what's more important than the joys of reading Harry Potter? Is something wrong, or-"

"I'M ENROLLING HERE!" she shouted.

She grabbed my hands and we jumped up and down, shrieking and saying "Oh my God!" three times before hugging.

As expected, the commotion caused all my housemates to come running into the room.

"What's wrong?" Mick asked, sounding alert. He was talking with his mouth full.

_He __eats __more __than __Nico __does,_ I thought.

"My parents decided to enroll me here! I'll be living in Anubis with you guys!" she exclaimed. "Won't this be _awesome?_"

And then, everyone started talking at once.

"Wait!" Nico shouted, trying to get everyone to calm down. "Giana, Mom and Dad called my cell earlier today too. They want me to stay. I'll be living in Isis, though, cuz I'm older than you all."

"Well, at least you'll get to hang out with us until you graduate, right?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. I just hope my housemates don't think I'm insane or hate me or something."

"I doubt that'll happen," Jerome commented. "You're not rude or strange."

"It's just nerves," Nina cut in. "I had them when I first came here, too."

"You'll be fine, Nico," Fabian said. "Quit worrying."

* * *

><p>"Here you go, Lovie."<p>

Trudy handed Tori her bedding, helping her move into Mara and Patricia's room.

I sighed, grabbing a box of clothes and passing them to my best friend.

"What's wrong?" she asked, starting to put her things away. "I thought you'd be happy."

"I am," I said truthfully. "It's just… this party-planning for Nico. It's insane! His birthday's in about two weeks and I feel like nothing's getting done."

"You did quite a lot last night when I overheard you pacing your room, muttering to yourself," Patricia cut in, her comment dripping with sarcasm. "You're really loud, you know that?"

"And you're not helping."

Just then, Nico showed up.

"My housemates from Isis probably think I'm crazy," he stated, leaning against the wall. "But, uh, what are you guys up to?"

"Helping Tori move in," Patricia answered. She wasn't even doing anything - just sitting there, painting her nails.

"Why do you think your housemates think you're crazy?" I prodded. "What did you do this time?"

"Nothing," he protested. "I'm just… I guess I'm still a bit tense from what happened last week. I mean, don't get me wrong: This school seems like a pretty awesome place, but it's kinda…"

"Creepy?" Amber finished, poking her head into the room. "Oh, and Giana, Fabian was wondering if you'd like to accompany him into town for a cappuccino or something."

"Of course!" I exclaimed, grinning and hopping off Tori's bed. "I'll be down in a minute."

"Hey, I just made that!" she yelled after me.

"Not my problem!" I shouted back, already halfway down the stairs.

* * *

><p><span>Fabian's POV:<span>

"You're excited, aren't you?" I asked. We had just gone through the school gates, heading down the road into town.

"I can never pass up a cappuccino," she answered, smiling.

I laughed. "Neither can I. That place makes pretty good food."

"True. But you haven't had good food until you've stayed with my family. Trudy's breakfasts and dinners are great, and the stuff made by the family who owns the bakery is _amazing__…_ but sometimes, I just miss my mom's home-cooking."

Within a few moments' time, we had arrived at Ragucci's, the bakery with the 'awesome cannoli' according to Nico. It was also the surname of the family who owned it.

"Ciao," Giana greeted Giuseppe, who was working again today. "Un cappuccino e un caffè espresso, per favore."

"Naturalmente, bella," he responded, giving her a wide smile.

We sat down.

"Why does he always call you 'bella'?" I asked, putting air quotes around the word. I knew little to no Italian, and the only things I _did_ know were simple - hello, goodbye, thanks, etc.

She shrugged. "Bella means beautiful in Italian," she said in an undertone. "Apparently I'm pretty."

I glanced over at Giuseppe and arched an eyebrow. "You don't think he likes you, do you?"

This caused her to break out into a fit of laughter.

"I'm actually being serious," I told her. "But, really, why else would he-"

"Fabian, you have nothing to worry about," she stated, leaning in and kissing my cheek. "I love _you,_ not Giuseppe. I barely even know him."

_Love?_ I thought.

Just then, Giuseppe came over with our drinks.

"I, uh, never really got your names," he said, putting the mugs down. "You're Giana, right?"

She nodded. "Yep. And this is Fabian. Il mio ragazzo."

I had no idea what she told him, but the look on his face was priceless.

"Che cosa?" he asked.

She nodded once more, a smug smile spreading across her face as she took a sip of her cappuccino. I sat there awkwardly, staring at my steaming espresso.

"Uhm…" I trailed off. "This is a bit awkward."

Giuseppe just stared from Giana, to me, then back to her, his dark chocolate-colored eyes widening in speechless shock. He ran a hand through his short, messy, almost-black hair, sighed, and went back to his work without another word.

"What did you tell him?" I whispered to her once he'd left. "He's acting very odd."

"I told him you were my boyfriend," she responded. "It needed to be cleared up."

"Yeah, it did. So… what did he say after?"

"He asked what, as if he hadn't heard me. Now I'm guessing he's either working, or wallowing in pity."

"You're hilarious," I said, laughing a bit. "Oh, Gia… why do I love you so much?"

"Why do you people call me Gia now?" she teased. "I don't know, Fabian. Maybe it's just my winning personality. Or the fact that I'm so adorable you just can't stand it."

I grinned, kissing her. "Or it could just be all of the above."

She blushed a bright crimson, which I still found adorable. "Anyway," she started, "there's still the matter of my brother's party. And the fact that I haven't been properly initiated into Sibuna yet."

"Like I said: I'll help you with the party planning, and we'll figure out the Sibuna thing in a bit."

"Okay, so we booked a band… Marianas Trench."

I almost dropped my mug. "You _did?_" I asked, incredulously. "How-"

"We have money," she answered simply. "So that's done, there's a venue, everybody has their outfits… I think. But I don't know about food or anything, and it's mainly my parents and I who are planning this, Tori included, but she's kind of useless right now as she's in love with someone."

"Oh? Who?"

She paused. "You promise you won't tell her I mentioned this?"

"Yes, of course."

"And you promise you won't tell _anyone?_"

"You have my word, Giana."

She took a breath, exhaling deeply. "Mick."

"I'm sorry, but you said what?"

"Mick," she repeated. "Tori loves Mick. I don't know _why,_ but she does."

"Obviously she hasn't told Mick about her feelings yet, has she?"

"Nope. And he shall forever remain the clueless meathead he is, because she won't tell him. Ever. She gets really nervous really easily around him, and I don't even know if they'll ever even _become_ a couple due to her awkwardness and his stupidity."

"Maybe we could… help them along. Kind of be like their match-makers."

"Like play as Amber?" she smiled. "I like the sound of that."

"Alright, so it's settled. We'll help pair up Mick and Tori, no matter how strange it may be."

"Thanks, Fabian. You're awesome."

"I know."

* * *

><p>A few hours later, we ended up back at Anubis, sitting in the common room with everyone else. Well, everyone but Mick and Mara.<p>

"We need to have an initiation ceremony," Nina said. "All three of you deserve to be in Sibuna - you'll have to find items to sacrifice in the fire."

"Huh?" Nico and Tori asked in unison.

"You heard her," Jerome answered.

"Fire? Sacrifices? WHAT?" Tori shouted.

Patricia sighed angrily. "Tori, calm down and read my lips!" She started talking slower. "You, Nico and Giana are each going to have to sacrifice something important in the initiation fire."

"I know _that,_" Tori shot back. "But why?"

"It's customary," Amber stated. "We've done it for everyone! Right guys?"

We all agreed, muttering comments about what we'd sacrificed. It was then that I started to miss my book.

"So, what will we have to throw in?" Nico spoke up.

"Anything that's important to you," I told him. "It could be anything - a photo, a charm, a book…"

"You sacrificed a book, didn't you?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"So it's settled," Nina cut in. "We're having the initiation tomorrow, after classes. We clear?"

Everyone nodded.

"Meeting adjured!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands. In an undertone, she added, "I've always wanted to say that."


	18. House of Initiation

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I own nothing but my OCs and this plot line.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eighteen: House of Initiation<strong>

Nicolo's POV:

"I look like an idiot," I said, surveying myself in the mirror. I had just put on the required school uniform.

"You look fine, mate," my roommate, Colin, reassured me. "We're all dressed the same, anyway." He ran a comb through his short, sandy-blonde hair.

Just then, Adelaide entered the room. She was one of my other housemates - short, pale skin, green eyes and fiery red hair. I think she was Irish or something. She arched an eyebrow as soon as she saw me.

"You look quite fetching in uniform," she commented, grinning. "Ready to walk across, boys?"

We nodded as she left to get her roommate, Nicolette.

My housemates seemed alright, for the most part. There was Colin - he liked reading and didn't really care too much about sports. Adelaide was more into the arts, always painting or drawing. Nicolette seemed to be the quiet type and kept to herself a lot, mainly writing in this one notebook she always carried around with her. She always had her light brown hair pulled back, tying it with a different-colored ribbon each day.

Anisa… I think she was of Asian descent or something. She _never_ stopped talking. Everything she said had some form of witty remark interlaced into the comment, and I found it hard to tell if she was being sarcastic or serious. Rose, her roommate, said I'd get used to it over time. She, on the other hand, had dark red hair and a constant air of curiosity surrounding her. Out of all the girls, I think I liked Adelaide the best. She seemed the most welcoming.

The other two guys, Sam and Max - they were cool. Sam was actually Colin's identical twin, but they had different personalities. Whereas there was Colin, Sam liked more sporty things and wasn't afraid to say no to people. Max, on the other hand, had dark-skin, was amazing at soccer (or football, as they called it), but he wasn't a meathead like Mick. He actually did good in school, considering he wanted to go to Oxford.

* * *

><p>I looked at my course schedule once I had gotten to the lockers. "Drama with Mr. Winkler?" I read aloud. "Okay."<p>

On my way to the drama studio, I spotted Tori and Giana, talking animatedly to each other by their French classroom.

"I'm telling you!" I heard my sister say. "He's _crazy_ about you! Just go and ask him out already - you've known him long enough."

"Ew, Gia!" Tori exclaimed, literally waving away the thought. "I could _never_ do that! I talk enough nonsense around him as it is, there's no need for me to be jeopardizing anything by being even _more_ stupid."

_Who __are __they __talking __about?_ I thought. _Someone __Tori__'__s __known __long __enough__… __Uh-oh._

Being careful so they didn't see me, I ran the rest of the way to the drama studio, sliding into a spot next to Adelaide and Rose, each kind of ignoring the other. For whatever reason, they didn't get along too well.

"You alright?" Rose asked. "You look as if you've seen a ghost or something."

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine," I answered, nonchalantly searching through my bag for my phone. I checked to make sure it was on silent before the class started, as I had no intention whatsoever of getting into trouble on my first day.

Then, this guy who looked to be one of the younger teachers entered the room, introducing himself as Jason Winkler. He went on about how we'd be doing some vocal warmups.

* * *

><p><span>Giana's POV:<span>

"I hate this uniform," Tori muttered for the hundredth time this morning. "It makes me look stupid."

"Well I guess I look stupid too, considering we're wearing the same thing," I replied.

"Gia, don't be silly. You look adorable."

"Liar."

"Truther."

"That isn't even a word."

Just then, someone snuck up behind me and tapped my shoulder, making me jump.

"Sorry!" It was Fabian. "I forgot - you don't like people sneaking up on you." He kissed me swiftly before joining in the conversation. "So, how are you two this morning? We didn't really get a chance to talk during breakfast."

"I'm fine," I answered. "Tori's ridiculing the dress code."

"I am not!" she protested. "I just think I look hideous."

"You look fine!" I shouted.

"You can't even see her!" Mick shouted. "Why should she take you seriously?"

That one comment.

I swallowed hard, trying to keep the tears from escaping my eyes as I spun on my heel and ran off.

* * *

><p><span>Fabian's POV:<span>

Giana's face went from looking happy and jubilant, to near tears, just after Mick made the comment about her vision.

"Mick!" I shouted. "What were you thinking?"

"You can't talk to my friend like that," Tori spoke up. "She's insecure about her sight sometimes - you had no right whatsoever to say that to her."

"I was joking!" he exclaimed. "Can't you people take a joke around here?"

"You really need to think before you speak, Meathead," Jerome chimed in, coming out of nowhere.

"Shut up, Clarke."

And with that, Mick walked off.

"You go to class," I told Tori. "I'll find Giana. Cover for us?"

She nodded. "Sure. Sorry, Fabian."

"It's not your fault."

* * *

><p>Eventually, I found her. She was up in the attic back at Anubis House, slumped hidden underneath the window with the stained glass sunset.<p>

"Are you alright?" I asked quietly, sitting down beside her. She had her knees drawn up to her chest with her arms around them, resting her head in her hands. She looked up at me with tear-stained, bloodshot eyes.

I put my arm around her and pulled her closer, kissing her cheek.

"Mick's a meathead," she choked, wiping some of the tears away.

"True," I agreed. "He shouldn't have said anything. Tori, Jerome and I yelled at him after you left."

"And now I'll be in huge trouble for ditching class."

"No you won't. Tori said she'd cover for us."

She rested her head on my shoulder. "I feel like such an idiot. I know he was joking, but I was made fun of a lot when I was younger about my sight, and Mick making that comment brought it all back." She paused. "That, and… I've been having nightmares lately."

"What about?" I asked, running a hand through her hair.

"Rufus. What he did to me. Sarah. Me, dead, and not being able to tell you that…"

She trailed off, tears streaming silently down her face again.

"Hmm?" I kissed her cheek again. "If you don't want to tell me now, I completely-"

"I love you."

"I love you too, and-" I cut myself off. "Wait, what?"

An ear-to-ear grin spread across her face as she leaned in to kiss me, and after I got over my initial surprise, I kissed back.

The kiss went from being short and sweet, to fiery and passionate. At some point or another we ended up snogging.

After some significant amount of time had passed, we broke apart, breathing heavily to catch some air.

"You're perfect," we said in unison, smiling at one another.

"Um," she started, "we should probably get back to school so no one misses us."

"Right," I answered, awkwardly clearing my throat.

We left the house quietly and walked hand-in-hand back to the school, saying that we loved each other every so often.

And, you know what? It was true.

I really did love her.

* * *

><p>After classes, we all met in the clearing in the woods, sitting at our respective places. Amber started the initiation ceremony.<p>

"Raise your right hand slightly," she instructed the trio.

They did as told

"Now." She turned to Giana. "Repeat after me: I, Giana Rosabella De Luca…"

"I, Giana Rosabella De Luca…" Gia started, looking uncertain.

"Promise to protect the treasure of Anubis House…"

"Promise to protect the treasure of Anubis House…"

"…and all its secrets," Amber finished, beaming.

"…and all its secrets," Giana repeated. She stepped forward and threw a small bracelet into the flames.

The process repeated for Nico and Tori. Nico put in a copy of Marilyn Manson's autobiography, and Tori a keychain charm with a monkey on it.

"You're now officially a part of the club!" Amber exclaimed. "Sibuna!"

"Sibuna!" the trio said in unison, putting their right hands over their right eyes.

"So, where were you two anyway?" Nina prodded. I had put out the fire, and we all started walking back towards the Houses. "You skipped French and most of History."

"Nothing, nowhere," Giana and I said in unison, averting each other's gazes.

Nico scoffed. "Sure," he muttered. "A likely story."

"I'm serious!" Gia exclaimed. "I was upset and went back to Anubis. Fabian came and found me, and after talking everything out, we walked back to school."

"What happened?" Amber asked.

"Mick happened," Tori grumbled. "He made a comment about her vision when I was criticizing myself on how I look in the uniform."

"What'd he say?" Nico chimed in.

"Something about not taking my comment seriously because I can't see her," Giana answered. "This was after I gave her a compliment."

"Meathead."

"Hey, you're joining in!" Jerome exclaimed. The two high-fived. "Welcome to the club, mate."

Nico laughed. "Yeah… Do you want me to talk to him, sorella?"

"Nah, I'm fine," she answered. "Not too much harm done."

We then parted ways with Nico and went back to our own House. As soon as we entered the front door, Tori spotted Mick.

There was a really awkward silence. Both of them stared at each other defiantly, as if waiting for the other to open their mouth and say something they'd soon regret. After a few moments, he walked back towards our room. Tori shrugged it off in annoyance.

"Why are guys so stupid?" she questioned.

"Um, hi," I teased.

"Except you," Giana clarified, smiling. "Tori, Mick's _naturally_ stupid. Trust us."

"Yeah, she's right," Alfie commented. "And we've had to live with him longer."

Just then, Tori literally snatched me away from Giana and pulled me into the common room.

"Okay," she started off, "did you two have an intense make-out session during the time you were supposed to be in classes?"

"You don't waste any time, do you?" I questioned. She shook her head. "Um… Yeah, we did."

"I KNEW IT!"

"Don't-"

"FABIAN AND GIANA-" I slapped my hand over her mouth as she continued yelling something along the lines of "skipped classes to go make out." I sighed in frustration.

And then the rest of our housemates entered the room.

"What?" I asked them. "Nothing happened."

As usual, they looked at me like I had five heads.

"I'm serious," I said, removing my hand from Tori's mouth.

"FABIAN AND GIANA SKIPPED CLASSES TO GO MAKE OUT!" And she ended up shouting anyway.

If my face wasn't already a deep crimson, it was now.

Looking to Giana, I found her mouth hanging open as if she were going to say something, and her arms and hands grandiosely gesturing towards Tori as if she were both mad and showing her off as a trophy.

"TORI!" she shrieked.

And then they chased each other out of the room.

"It's never a dull moment in this house," Jerome commented.

I simply nodded in agreement.


	19. House of Celebration

**I'm sitting here, writing this as I watch TV and eat gummy life savers.**

**Also, I'VE FINISHED MY FIRST SEMESTER OF COLLEGE!**

**Anyway, onto the story~**

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I own nothing but my OCs and this plot line.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nineteen: House of Celebration<strong>

Giana's POV:

About a week later, I was actually doing something productive for once: Homework.

Kinda.

Okay, I lied. I had music blasting as I danced crazily to it alone, in my room.

And then, after that fiasco, I finished my homework, right before I heard someone knocking on my door.

"Can I come in?" It was Nico.

"Sure," I answered, turning my laptop off. "What goes on?"

"I have a question," he started off awkwardly, sitting down. "Does Tori… uhm… Does she like me?"

I arched an eyebrow, then burst into laughter.

"I'm being legit, here!" he exclaimed.

"I know, I know!" I agreed, now in hysterics.

"So I'll take that as a no," he stated.

"Duh!" I replied, hitting him with a throw pillow. "Of _course_ Tori doesn't like you! She likes Mick - well, she did, until he decided to turn around and be a jerk."

"The whole vision thing?"

"Yeah."

"Mick's a loser anyway."

"No crap, Sherlock." I paused. "Anyway, what've you been up to? Do you like your housemates?"

"They're pretty cool." He shifted awkwardly. "Uh, there's this _one_ girl-"

I cut him off. "Tell me _everything!_ Name? Hair? Eyes? Nationality? What does she _like?_"

"Calm down!" He started laughing. "Her name's Adelaide O'Ryan, she's Irish I think - stereotypical fiery red hair and emerald green eyes. She loves art; she's always drawing or painting, and I think she likes to write, too. She's really nice. I think you guys would get along well."

"I'll make a mental note to talk to her," I told him. "Now, for the whole Tori and Mick situation…"

"Oh, God."

"Fabian and I were going to try and match-make them, but after last week, well, that obviously didn't happen. I'm just hoping they'll make up. Forgiving and forgetting, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. But Mick's a meathead, right? Tori could do _way_ better than him."

"I know," I started off, getting up and pacing. "But she won't listen. She's too thick-headed."

"Right. This _is_ Tori we're talking about."

Just then, Nina entered the room.

"Hi!" She sounded happy. "What're you guys up to?"

"Plotting Tori's demise," Nico answered nonchalantly. "Uh, you?"

"Living," she answered simply. "Gotta get started on that homework."

"Hi!" Amber exclaimed, entering the room. She plopped down on her bed. "So, Giana, what _was_ it that you and Fabian did last week while you were supposed to be in classes?"

"Aaaaand that's my cue to leave," Nico started, standing up. "I have English homework, and a lab report for Chemistry that won't write itself, so I'm just gonna _head __back __to __my __House,_ and-"

"NICO!" I shouted, grabbing him by his uniform shirt collar and forcing him back down into my desk chair. "Sit."

"Aww, do I _have_ to?"

"Yes." I turned to Amber. "We did _nothing,_ just like Tori said. We just _kissed._" I paused, saying the next sentence in an undertone. "And, um, said some things."

"Oooh, what 'things'?" she prodded, using air quotes.

"That we loved each other," I mumbled, blushing the oh-so-familiar deep crimson.

She squealed so loudly, I thought I'd go deaf.

After grabbing my pillow, placing it over my face and screaming into it, I then began to question my _own_ sanity.

Nico got up to leave again.

"Goodbye, dearest brother!" I called after him. "And go out with Adelaide!"

_"__What?__"_ Amber exclaimed. "Your brother likes someone? Well we should _totally-_"

"No," Nina and I said in unison. "No match-making."

"Plus, Fabian and I are already trying to hook up Tori and Mick," I pointed out.

"Mick?" Amber questioned. "Why Mick?"

"Because she loves him," Nina chimed in. "I don't know _why,_ but she does."

"But Mick's an idiot!" Amber shouted.

"Hey, _you_ dated him!"

"But I was young and foolish."

"Amber, it was last term."

"Um, okay," I piped up. "Point is, whether or not he's a meathead, which he is, I can't help but nudge my best friend in the right direction towards her strange but true dreams."

Speaking of Tori, she popped her head in our room.

"Trudy wanted you to know that dinner's in ten," she said, walking away.

* * *

><p>The week flew by in a flash, and then it was Saturday.<p>

Nico's birthday. And the day of his party.

"Come on!" I said, as I walked to Isis with Nina. I had plans on both wishing him a happy birthday, as well as shoving a newly-tailored suit at him and making him change for tonight.

When we got to his boarding house, a girl with fiery red hair opened the door, evidently unsurprised to see us.

"You're Nico's sister, right?" she asked me. Then she turned to Nina. "And you're a friend of his?"

"Yeah," I answered. "Are you Adelaide?"

"Yep. Come on in - he's in his room I think."

"Nico!" I shouted, knocking on his door. "Open the door!"

"Hi!" he greeted. "What's up?"

"Buon compleanno!" I exclaimed, hugging him. "Here." I shoved the suit at him.

"Aww, grazie!" He stared at it blankly. "A suit?"

"Yes. And I want you to put it on, comb your hair, and meet us with your housemates outside the school gates at six. Sound good?"

"You're crazy," he muttered. "But, okay."

"Good."

* * *

><p><span>Fabian's POV:<span>

"Are you all ready yet?" Jerome called up the stairs to the girls. "It's almost quarter to six!"

"Jerome, you _can__'__t_ rush beauty!" Amber shouted back.

A few moments later, the six girls appeared at the top of the stairs, walking down the staircase one by one.

First, there was Giana. She was the most breathtakingly beautiful girl I had ever seen.

Her long, slightly curly hair was done up into a sort of braided knot at the back of her head, with a side-swept fringe. She wore a beautiful one-shouldered burgundy dress that was gathered and tied with a sash at the side of her waist. I noticed a silver bracelet, necklace, and clutch, as well as nice-looking heels that must've been easy to walk in, and she wore a ring that had a centered jewel, the same color as her dress.

A smile lit up her face as she saw me, taking my arm. It was then that I noticed she was actually wearing makeup, which was probably Amber's doing.

Nina followed, wearing a navy blue dress, one side being a thin strap, the other side with small blue roses along the strap. Her hair had been straightened and brushed out of her face, and she also wore the same shade of silver jewelry as Giana. She, too, had a small purse in one hand.

Amber came next, wearing a signature pink dress with a pink clutch, fancy, expensive jewelry, and nice shoes. Her hair had been curled to perfection and there were two small, pink rose clips in it, one on each side. She beamed once she saw Alfie, walking over to him.

Patricia followed, wearing a dark teal, one-shouldered dress with small, dark roses lining the shoulder and chest. She actually did a good job getting all dressed up for the party, considering she was actually wearing heels and fancy jewelry. She still had her signature glare on, though, but the hair extensions were absent.

Next, was Mara. She had on a pale green dress with a ruffle around the collar. Her jewelry was silver, just like the other girls', and her hair had been straightened perfectly. She beamed at Jerome as she took his hand.

Lastly, there was Tori. She happily pranced down the stairs, wearing a creamy peach-colored, one-shoulder dress with roses on the shoulder. There was a sash around her waist made out of lighter fabric, and her jewelry was either gold or the same color as her dress. She clutched a small handbag like the rest of the girls, and her long, light brown hair was braided intricately.

Once she got to the bottom of the staircase, she glanced around at everyone, hesitating once she saw Mick. The two made eye contact for a few moments before Giana spoke up.

"We have to meet up with Nico and his housemates. Let's go."

I was still lost for words as we left the House, heading towards the school's entrance.

* * *

><p>"There you are!" Nico exclaimed once he saw us. He'd been talking animatedly to a redhead before we showed up. "Where are we going?"<p>

"You'll find out," Giana told him. "Just chill."

We ended up having to take four cars because there were so many of us. Luckily, I had my license.

"You _sure_ you know how to drive?" Tori asked uncertainly as she got into the backseat of my car.

_"__Yes,__"_ I reassured her. "And since Nico can't drive in England yet - and because he has no idea where we're going - I'll be driving you guys."

"I call shotgun!" Giana exclaimed, sliding into the passenger seat. "Let's roll."

* * *

><p>It didn't take us too long to get to the hall where they were throwing the party. There were already a lot of people there when we arrived, and it wasn't due to start until around six-thirty.<p>

"Where _are_ we?" Nico asked for the billionth time as we walked into the venue. "I'm really starting to get impatient-"

"Surprise!"

The look on his face was priceless when he noticed all of his family members and friends from back home, all jumping out and surprising him.

And then he noticed Marianas Trench.

Actually, it might've been Tori who noticed them first, considering she started squealing excessively.

"You… You…" Nico kept repeating the word over and over again, looking from the band to us, and back to the band. Then he turned around to see his and Giana's parents.

"Yes," their father answered. "We did."

"YOU FOUR!" Tori and Nico shouted in unison as they ran toward the band. The six of them started talking animatedly to each other. Then they started playing some songs.

"Giana!" a girl, looking to be our age, with short, straight dark hair and similar features to Gia's family came walking over to us with a blonde boy, also around our age. "How are you?"

"Carla!" Gia exclaimed, hugging her. "How are you?"

"Good! You?" She peered around at me. "Oooh, is that your boyfriend?"

"I'm fine, and yeah. This is Fabian. Fabian, meet my cousin, Carla. And this," she gestured to the blonde boy, "is Jeremy. He's a good friend of Nico's."

Jeremy waved. "Hi! Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, mate," I replied. "Both of you."

* * *

><p>There were so many people, and so much food - I had no idea Gia and Nico had such a large family.<p>

"We're Italiano," she said simply before eating some lasagna. "Naturally there are a million people in our family."

"That band is freaking _amazing,_" one of her other cousins, Camilla, said as she took a seat at our table. "Oh, there's lasagna? I'm gonna go get some!"

And she got up to go over to the buffet.

"You know, I really like your family," Jerome stated, taking a sip of his Italian soda. "And this Italian soda."

"Italian soda is my favorite," Nico commented.

"It _is_ quite good," Adelaide agreed, taking a sip of her own. "But why is it _Italian_ soda?"

"I don't think it's carbonated like regular soda," Giana replied. "But I love it. Especially the pomegranate flavor."

Just then, a slow song started to play. The band had finished their set for the time being and decided to eat, and there was a DJ to fill the gaps.

I glanced at Giana. "Erm," I started off, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly. "Giana… Um, would you, uh, care to dance… with me?"

"Of course, Fabian," she replied, a smile spreading across her face. "But I'm going to apologize in advance for any damage your feet will suffer."

"Nonsense," I laughed, getting up out of my seat.

She took my arm as I led her out onto the dance floor. We started dancing, and then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tori leave the room. Mick followed behind her, looking as if he didn't want to be seen.

"What's wrong?" Giana asked, seeing my facial expression. I had forgotten - since we were so close, she could actually tell that I was worried.

"Tori just left the room with Mick following her," I answered. "It looked kind of suspicious, considering I don't think he wanted to be seen."

She shook her head. "They're not important right now. We'll deal with them later."

We kissed.

"I love you," I told her.

"I love you, too," she responded.

"Aww," Nico started, showing up out of nowhere. "You two are giving me a cavity."


	20. House of Confessions

****So this _may_ end up being the last chapter. I haven't decided yet, and I'm sorry I sprung this on all of you so quickly, but... I don't know. You'll just have to see - maybe there'll be a surprise in the future. ;)****

****Anyway, I just want to thank all of you. This story was fantastic to write, and I've loved all the feedback on it. I'm so attached to the characters, though, that this most likely isn't the end. But I can't tell for sure.****

****DISCLAIMER:****

****I own nothing but my OCs and this plot line.****

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Chapter Twenty: House of Confessions<strong>**

Victoria's POV:

The party was a _lot_ of fun, but I just needed to leave the room and get some air. There were so many people, so much food…

And I was avoiding Mick like the plague.

"Going somewhere?" a familiar voice questioned as I headed to the room where our coats were.

_Too late,_ I thought. _He found me._

"I have nothing to say to you, Meathead," I responded, turning on my heel and walking back in the direction of the party. Suddenly, I had changed my mind.

"Come on, Tori," he protested, standing in front of me, blocking my way. "We need to talk! You've been going out of your way to avoid me ever since I was an idiot and made that comment about Giana's vision-"

"Yeah," I replied, crossing my arms. "You _were_ an idiot. You still _are,_ seeing as you can't take a hint! She was made fun of a lot when we were younger, and the reason was because she couldn't see as well as you or I. I know you were joking, so did she, but you were still stupid to go ahead and say that!"

"But she _forgave_ me!" he pressed. "Why can't you?"

"Maybe it's because I don't _want_ to? Because you, Mick Campbell, are possibly one of the most annoying, pompous people I've ever _met?_ Because _I'm my own person,_ and I choose _not_ to follow the crowd? Because I _like_ you?"

My hand flew to my mouth as soon as that last one escaped my lips. Looking around frantically, I charged forward, shoving him aside and heading back to the party.

"Tori!" he shouted after me.

I spun around again. "What?" I asked, venomously.

"You… You can't… You _can't_…" He was sputtering like an idiot.

And then he ran forward and caught me before I turned around again, kissing me on the lips.

It took a few moments for my brain to register what was happening, but I ended up kissing him back.

You know what? It wasn't too bad.

* * *

><p><span>Giana's POV:<span>

"Okay, so _where_ did Tori go?" I asked Fabian after the second song we danced to had ended.

"Come with me," he answered, taking my hand. He led me out of the room, into a little corridor off to the side. I noticed Nina, Carla and Camilla had followed us.

"Go back to the party!" I whisper-shouted to my cousins, shooing them away. "There's no need for you to be here!"

"We're friends with Tori, too, if you remember correctly," Camilla protested, crossing her arms.

I shook my head, fixing my side-swept bangs. "Whatever," I muttered.

We walked in the direction of the coat room, and at some point or another, Fabian put his arm out to stop me from continuing.

"What?" I whispered.

He pointed ahead.

Even after squinting, I still couldn't see anything.

"Fabian," I muttered, elbowing him. "I can't see too well. Remember?"

"Awkward," Camilla and Carla said in unison, sniggering.

"Oops," he responded. "Er… Tori and Mick are kind of… snogging."

_"What?"_ I nearly shouted.

"Now they know we're here!" Nina exclaimed.

"Huh?"

They came walking over to us awkwardly, hand-in-hand.

"Giana," Tori started off, "what in the world are you guys doing?"

"What were _you_ doing?" I countered. "Shoving your tongues down each others' throats?"

"Absolutely _not!_"

My gaze hardened.

"Well…"

"I knew it!" I shouted, punching my fist in the air. "I called it! Tori and Mick would make up at the party! And _you,_" I started, turning to Fabian, "owe me twenty pounds."

"Huh?" Mick asked in bewilderment.

Fabian pulled out his wallet and happily handed me a twenty pound bill, shaking his head slightly. "If I ever go gambling, I'm taking you with me," he said, kissing me. "You're quite forceful when it comes to bets."

I grinned. "Of course, Fabian. Now: Let's all get back to the party and leave these two lovebirds in peace."

"Che cosa?" Tori asked in astonishment.

"Piccioncini," I repeated, this time in Italian. "Lovebirds, mia amica."

We had left to rejoin the party, not taking a second glance back. I turned to Nina.

"Why don't you go dance with someone?" I suggested.

She scoffed. "Who?"

"Carmine!" Camilla exclaimed.

_"Carmine?"_ I repeated.

"Yeah," Carla took over. "Carmine. You know, Camilla and mine's brother. He said earlier that he thought Nina was pretty and would ask her to dance, so…"

After a few persistent battles of wit, Nina finally gave in, muttering to herself something about peer pressure.

* * *

><p>A significant amount of time had gone by. However much time that was, I had no idea. I was having too much fun.<p>

"Be back in a few," I said.

On my way back from the ladies' room, I thought I heard someone behind me. Thinking I was hallucinating, but not wanting to take any chances, I picked up the pace a bit, walking faster through the dim corridor.

Out of nowhere, a rough, gloved hand shot out and caught my bare shoulder, yanking me back and forcing me against a wall.

"Let go of me!" I protested, squirming a bit. "Who are you?"

"That's not important," he answered in a gruff-sounding tone of voice. "I know who _you_ are, though. Giana De Luca. Chosen Other. You and your _bratty_ counterpart murdered my colleague."

_Counterpart?_ I questioned. _Nina? Wait…_

"You work for Rufus?" I asked in disbelief. "How did you-"

"It's not important how I found you," he said sternly, moving so he was practically right up against me. He tightened his grip.

My heart started pounding, my breathing increased, and I thought I saw my life flash before my eyes.

_Why do all the bad things happen to me?_ I asked myself. I was both near tears, and trying to stay strong.

The latter didn't work.

* * *

><p><span>Fabian's POV:<span>

I checked my watch for the thousandth time.

_How long can it take to go to the loo?_ I asked myself.

Just when I was about to get up for more food, Nina came running over, a look of both urgency and fright all over her face.

"Uh-oh," I said. "What's wrong?"

She rubbed her shoulder. "Fabian, I think we have a problem."

I arched an eyebrow, gave her a sideways glance, then realized what she meant.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"No idea," she answered. "Do you want me to get someone?"

Instead of responding, I ran out of the room, Nina right behind me, turning down the dimly-lit corridor.

And then we heard her shout, "Don't touch me, you _creep!_ Hey!"

There was a man dressed in all black, holding her up against the wall, standing so dangerously close to her it almost made me sick.

"Go get someone," I whispered to Nina. "Security. I don't care. I'll deal with him."

"Are you sure?" she asked. I nodded, right before she spun on her heel and ran off to get help.

"Leave her!" I shouted, charging forward.

The man, whoever he was, ended up letting go of her, prompting her to land somewhat unstably on her feet.

Just as he started advancing on me, Nina came back with the manager of the venue, as well as a few security guards.

My gaze focused on Giana. I swiftly walked toward her, catching her in a tight embrace.

"Are you alright?" I asked urgently.

"I don't want to talk about it," she answered quietly, letting out a deep breath.

I kissed her forehead.

She pulled away. "Let's just head back."

* * *

><p><span>Giana's POV:<span>

I didn't want to think about what had almost happened out in the corridor. I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind as I enjoyed myself, dancing with Fabian and eating more food.

After we had the cake, Nico came over to me and pulled me aside.

"Why are you and Fabian so adorable together?" he asked.

"Why don't you dance with Adelaide already?" I countered.

"Why are you so similar to Mom?"

"Why are you judging me so much tonight?"

"I'm not judging you, sorella."

"Good," I replied, crossing my arms. "So go ask her to dance."

He sighed, defeated. "Okay."

And so they ended up dancing during the next slow song. I really thought it was cute that he liked her so much.

* * *

><p><span>Fabian's POV:<span>

The rest of the party went by without a problem, and it was the most fun I'd ever had. We ended up getting back to the school at around eleven, and I had pulled Giana into mine and Mick's room, closing the door behind us.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked, taking her hands in mine.

"I was scared," she started off. "I mean, you probably would be too, if this random guy popped up out of nowhere and shoved you against a wall. He said he was one of Rufus' colleagues… whatever that means." She paused. "He was… intimidating."

I thought for a moment, trying to put together a proper string of words to ask my next question.

"He didn't _do_ anything…" I trailed off.

She bit her lower lip. "Almost."

Controlling my intense anger and disgust towards whoever that man was, I pulled her closer to me, hugging her. I noticed she was shaking a bit, whether it was due to fright or something else, I had no idea, nor did I have any intention of asking.

"It's like I'm cursed," she said quietly, a tear escaping her eye. "Almost everything bad that could happen, happens. It always comes back to me. I just don't understand it."

"You're not cursed," I reassured her. "You just end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. It _will_ get better."

She looked up at me. We locked gazes for a few moments, and that's when I noticed her eyes.

So much could be said with those dark chocolate-colored eyes. They seemed to be filled with a plethora of emotions: Sadness, fear, anxiety, exhaustion, longing, love… The list went on.

Even though she had her heels off and she was an inch or two shorter than I was, our faces were so close to one another's that I hadn't the faintest idea why we hadn't kissed yet.

Within a matter of milliseconds, she closed the gap and we ended up kissing feverishly and with more passion than I had thought possible. There was literally no space between us as I pulled her even closer and she tangled her hands in my hair.

It felt as if every emotion in the world was being poured out when I kissed her.

We ended up full-on snogging at some point, just kissing each other senseless. I so badly wanted more, but did my best to restrain myself, as I didn't know where it would lead to. But, after a moment or two, I felt her hands begin to wander. I decided to take a chance.

Unbeknownst to us, someone had quietly entered the room.

"Hey, can I borrow a-" It was Tori. She quickly cut herself off, probably taking in the scene before her.

Giana and I broke apart swiftly, both breathing heavily and with flushed faces. It was then that I noticed my suit jacket on the floor at my feet, my tie and a button or two also undone.

We stared at Tori, her face becoming a mask of both embarrassment and shock as she pointed at us, mouth agape, slowly and awkwardly walking backwards out of the room. She closed the door behind her like it once was.

I cleared my throat.

"Well," I started, "that was awkward."

"A bit," Giana agreed, catching her breath.

I could still feel the tension in the air as we stared at each other for a few moments.

"It was perfect," we said in unison.

She slowly reached out and took hold of my tie. "It's undone," she stated simply.

"I know," I answered calmly. In reality, I was wondering if she could hear my heartbeat as loudly as I could.

She dropped her arm back to her side and shrugged, staring at me quizzically.

I couldn't take it anymore. She was just so enchantingly beautiful, and even though restraining myself had worked for a bit, well… I was starting to weaken.

The tension in the air was so incredibly present that I swear I could reach out and touch it, as if it were a curtain of emotions.

Or maybe that was just my hormones.

Either way, once we had started kissing again, I felt pretty much every thought leave my head, just floating away carelessly.

It felt as if it were just the two of us. Like we were the only people in the world.

And I thought that was absolutely perfect.

I wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
